FROM   THE   LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


DMA.      SCIC 


JOHN   SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 
A  BIOGRAPHY 


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i/U~- 


in 


From    a    Painting   by    Caroline    Cranch,    1884, 
the  possession  of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association 


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JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT%c^ 

Brook-Farmer,  Editor,  and   Critic  of  Music 

A  BIOGRAPHY 
By 
GEORGE  WILLIS  COOKE 


BOSTON 
SMALL,  MAYNARD  &  COMPANY 

1898 


COPYRIGHT,   1898 

BV  SMALL,  MAYNARD  &  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


PRESS  OF  GEORGE  H.  ELLIS,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


TO  THE  HARVARD  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATION, 

WITH  WHICH  THE  SUBJECT  OF  THIS  BIOGRAPHY  WAS  INTIMATELY 
CONNECTED,  FROM  THE  DAY  OF  ITS  INCEPTION  UNTIL  HIS  DEATH, 
SERVING  IT  IN  EVERY  OFFICIAL  CAPACITY,  BEING  ITS  PRESIDENT 
FOR  TWENTY  YEARS,  THIS  VOLUME  IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 
WITH  THE  HOPE  THAT  IT  MAY  HELP  TO  INDICATE  HOW  INTI- 
MATELY THE  MAN,  THE  ASSOCIATION,  AND  THE  ART  THEY  AIMED 
TO    SERVE    WERE  UNITED  TO  EACH  OTHER. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Ancestry,  Youth,  and  College  Life      .  i 

II.  Preaching  and  Translating n 

III.  At  Northampton 31 

IV.  Brook  Farm 48 

V.  A  Time  of  Experiments 129 

VI.  "Dwight's  Journal  of  Music"       .     .     .  146 

VII.  A  Year  in  Europe 168 

VIII.  Years  of  Toil  for  Music 186 

IX.  The  Autocrat  of  Music 214 

X.  The  Saturday  Club 237 

XI.  Personal  Traits 265 

XII.  The  Closing  Years 282 


When  Nature    was    shaping    him,    clay    was    not 

granted 

For  making  so  full-sized  a  man  as  she  wanted. 

So,  to  fill  out  her  model,  a  little  she  spared 

From  some  finer-grained  stuff  for  a  woman  prepared ; 

And  she  could  not  have  hit  a  more  excellent  plan 

For  making  him  fully  and  perfectly  man. 

The  success  of  her  scheme  gave  her  so  much  delight 

That  she  tried  it  again,  shortly  after,  in  D wight : 

Only,  while  she  zvas  kneading  and  shaping  the  clay, 

She  sang  to  her  work  in  her  sweet,  childish  way, 

And  found,  when  she  d  put  the  last  touch  to  his  soul, 

That  the  music  had  somehow  got  mixed  zvith   the 

whole. 

A  Fable  for  Critics. 


PREFACE. 

This  biography  of  John  S.  D wight  was  under- 
taken at  the  suggestion  and  request  of  Mrs.  Ednah 
D.  Cheney,  and  it  has  secured  the  benefit  of  her  aid 
and  revision.  The  aim  kept  in  view  in  its  prepara- 
tion was  to  permit  Dwight  to  speak  for  himself  as 
far  as  it  could  be  done,  and  to  make  the  work  auto- 
biographic in  so  far  as  this  was  possible  of  accom- 
plishmetit.  As  he  was  not  a  frequent  letter-writer, 
resource  has  been  had  to  the  published  words  of  his 
which  throw  light  upon  his  career.  Many  of  these 
are  of  an  autobiographic  nature,  and  they  have  been 
drawn  upon  frequently. 

The  letters  written  to  Dwight  by  his  friends  have 
been  freely  used,  especially  where  they  interpret  his 
own  life  or  aid  us  in  tinders  landing  his  connection 
with  men  and  women  well  known  to  the  public. 
Among  these  will  be  found  letters  from  Carlyle, 
Emerson,  Dr.  Channing,  Lowell,  Longfellow, 
Holmes,  Theodore  Parker,  Hawthorne,  Margaret 
Fuller,  George  Ripley,  W.  W.  Story,  Lydia  M. 
Child,  Elizabeth  Peabody,  Christopher  P.  Cranch, 
George  W.  Curtis,  Charles  T.  Brooks,  Henry 
James,  William  Henry  Channing,  E.  P.  Whipple, 
and  Richard  Grant  White.  The  work  contains  at 
least  twoscore  interesting  and  valuable  letters  that 
have  never  before  appeared  in  print. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  understand  the  cir- 
cumstances amidst  which  Dwight  was  placed,  and  to 
rightly  interpret  his  social  and  intellectual  environ- 


x  PREFACE 

ment.  To  this  end  reminiscences  from  his  personal 
friends  and  intimate  associates  have  been  secured, 
and  among  these  are:  Mrs.  fulia  Ward  Howe, 
Mrs.  John  A.  Andrew,  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney, 
Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson,  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,  Mr. 
Arthur  Foote,  Mr.  John  Holmes,  Mr.  William  F. 
Apthorp,  Mr.  Erving  Winslow,  Mr.  S.  Lothrop 
Thomdike,  Mr.  Ernst  Perabo,  Mrs.  Laura  A. 
Richards,  and  Dr.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol.  If  the  book 
gives  a  true  account  of  D wight' s  life  and  character, 
it  is  due  in  large  degree  to  these  personal  interviews 
and  reminiscences. 

Three  phases  of  D  wight's  life  have  been  kept  espe- 
cially in  view, —  his  connection  with  Brook  Farm, 
his  membership  hi  the  Saturday  Club,  and  his  work 
for  music  in  Boston.  The  chapter  on  Brook  Farm 
gives,  perhaps,  a  more  distinctly  inward  view  of  its 
daily  life  than  can  be  found  elsewhere,  due  to  the 
numerous  letters  it  contains  written  from  the  farm 
by  Dwight  and  his  sisters.  It  also  deals  more  fully 
with  the  associationist  movement  in  and  about  Bos- 
ton than  has  been  tisual,  and  it  shows  that  the  in- 
fluence of  Brook  Farm  was  felt  for  many  years 
after  it  came  to  an  end. 

The  Saturday  Club  has  been  frequently  written  of 
by  Dr.  Holmes  and  others,  but  various  notes  kept  of 
its  meetings  by  Dwight  make  the  chapter  here  devoted 
to  it  final  as  to  dates  and  members.  Its  history  is 
told  more  fully  than  it  has  been  anywhere  else,  and 
with  a  view  to  showing  how  intimately  Dwight  was 
connected  with  the  literary  men  of  his  time. 


PREFACE  xi 

So  important  was  Dwighfs  connection  with  the 
development  of  musical  interest  and  taste  in  Boston 
that  it  was  desirable  some  account  of  his  work  for 
music  should  be  given  to  the  public.  His  fournal  of 
Music  was  a  pioneer  in  its  chosen  field,  and  he  made 
it  an  educational  power  in  securing  a  just  recogni- 
tion of  the  claims  of  music  as  an  art.  He  was  iiiti- 
mately  identified  with  almost  every  movement  made 
in  behalf  of  music  for  nearly  a  half  century  in 
the  city  of  his  birth,  and  the  history  of  that  art  in 
Boston  cannot  be  written  without  the  frequent  use 
of  his  name.  In  his  time  every  one  looked  to  him  for 
the  right  interpretatio?i  of  music,  and  musicians 
trusted  him  as  sincerely  as  did  the  general  public. 
His  work  was  therefore  unique,  and  never  likely  to 
be  repeated  on  the  part  of  any  interpreter  of  music. 
He  was  a  fit  man  for  the  time,  that  time  when 
music  was  securing  its  public,  when  musical  culture 
was  finding  its  opportunity,  and  when  a  man  of  lit- 
erary skill  was  needed  who  could  mediate  between  the 
art  and  the  public. 

The  reference  to  D wight  in  Lowell's  "  Fable  for 
Critics"  though  brief,  was  just  and  appreciative.  It 
shows  how  highly  the  poet  thought  of  his  friend, 
and  it  admirably  expresses  the  interest  with  which 
D  wight's  work  for  music  was  regarded  by  his  asso- 
ciates. We  do  not  think  of  him  to-day  as  of  intel- 
lectual kin  with  Hawthorne,  but  so  lie  was  thought 
of  by  our  keenest  literary  critic. 

Among  the  letters,  etc.,  which  came  into  my  harids 
in  the  preparation  of  this  volume  was  a  series  of 


xii  PREFACE 

letters  from  George  William  Curtis  to  Dwight. 
These  have  been  published  in  a  separate  volume, 
which  bears  the  title  of  "  Early  Letters  of  George 
William  Curtis  to  fohn  S.  Dwight:  Brook  Farm 
and  Concord."  A  few  errors  found  their  way  into 
that  volume,  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  correcting 
here. 

It  was  Curtis  himself  who  invented  the  name 
of  Plato  Skimpole  for  Alcott,  and  not  Margaret 
Fuller.  Dickens s  " Bleak  House"  in  which  Skim- 
pole  appears,  was  first  published  in  1852  in  this 
country ;  but  Margaret  Fuller  went  to  Europe  in 
1846,  and  died  in  1850. 

Elizabeth  Hoar  was  betrothed  to  Charles  Emer- 
son, and  not  to  his  brother  Edward.  In  regard  to 
Charles  Emerson  the  Hon.  George  Frisbie  Hoar 
writes  me :  "  /  suppose  his  was  the  most  brilliant 
intellect  of  any  person  ever  born  in  New  England, 
if  you  may  trust  the  testimony  of  so  many  authori- 
ties whose  point  of  view  is  very  different.  His 
brother  Waldo,  although  eleven  years  older,  said  of 
him  that  he  looked  to  him  as  to  a  master,  and  that 
he  was  the  only  person  who  made  Shakspere  seem 
possible  to  him.  Daniel  Webster,  in  whose  office  he 
studied,  said,  when  he  was  consulted  where  he  should 
settle,  that  it  made  no  difference  where  he  settled.  If 
he  opened  an  office  in  the  midst  of  the  backwoods  in 
Maine,  the  clients  would  throng  after  him.  Dr. 
Channing  said  of  him,  when  he  died,  that  all  New 
England  mourned  his  loss ;  and  Edward  Everett 
delivered  a  eulogy  upon  him  at  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa 


PREFACE 


Xlll 


dinner,  which,  I  hope,  will  be  brought  to  light  if  the 
long-delayed  duty  of  writing  a  memoir  of  Everett 
shall  ever  be  performed  and  his  papers  shall  be  pub- 
lished. When  it  is  remembered  that  Charles  Emer- 
son died  at  about  twenty- seven  years,  when  he  had 
scarcely  begun  the  practice  ofhisprofession,you  will 
perhaps  be  inclined  to  agree  that  my  estimate  of  him 
is  not  a  fond  exaggeration" 

The  account  which  Curtis  gave  of  the  drowning 
of  a  young  girl  in  Concord  may  be  supplemented  by 
the  statement  that  her  name  was  Martha  Hunt,  and 
not  Mary.  She  belonged  to  the  family  of  a  well- 
to-do  farmer  in  Concord,  and  was  a  beautiful  girl, 
of  sweet  disposition.  Had  it  not  been  for  inherited 
insanity,  she  would  have  had  no  difficulty  in  finding 
a  refined  society  suited  to  her  capacity. 

Elizabeth  Randall  was  married  at  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Cheney,  and  not  at  that  of  Samuel  Hoar.  It 
should  also  be  said  that  Samuel  Hoar  was  known 
in  Concord  as  "  Souire,"  and  not  as  Judge.  In  his 
day  he  was  one  of  the  most  famous  lawyers  in  the 
country.  Chief  Justice  Shaw  said  that  he  was  the 
most  powerful  jttry  lawyer  in  Massachusetts.  Starr 
King  said  of  him  that  "  he  lived  all  the  beatitudes 
daily."  After  his  death  tribute  was  paid  to  his 
memory  by  John  A.  Andrew,  Emory  Washburn, 
Charles  Sumner,  John  G.  Palfrey,  Robert  C.  Win- 
throp,  and  James  Walker.  President  Walker  said 
of  his  relations  to  Harvard  College  that  he  was 
"  venerable  alike  for  his  age  and  his  virtues,  a  de- 
voted friend  to  the  college,  whom  he  has  been  able  to 


xiv  PREFACE 

serve  in  a  thousand  ways  by  the  wisdom  of  his  coun- 
sels and  the  weight  of  his  character."  He  also  said 
of  him,  "  Other  men  served  the  college ;  Samuel 
Hoar  saved  it" 

In  his  letter  about  Father  Hecker,  Curtis  spoke 
of  a  series  of  papers  in  the  Dial,  called  "  Ernest,  the 
Seeker"  as  written  by  William  Henry  Channing. 
They  were  in  reality  written  by  William  Ellery 
Channing,  the  poet,  one  of  Thoreaus  most  intimate 
friends  and  his  first  biographer.  One  who  knew 
him  well  in  his  days  of  poetic  activity  has  written  of 
him,  "I  shall  be  much  mistaken  if  some  of  his  poems 
do  not  survive  nearly  everything  that  his  generation 
in  this  country  produced." 

One  or  two  other  errors  may  be  corrected.  Curtis 
mentions  the  Nethake  family  in  New  York,  not 
the  Vathek.  The  flower  he  found  on  his  visit  to 
Wachusett  was  the  potentilla.  All  these  errors 
have  been  corrected  in  the  second  edition.  Some  of 
them  were  made  by  Curtis  himself,  and  others  came 
from  misinformation.  I  have  to  thank  those  per- 
sons who  have  kindly  pointed  them  out  to  me. 

The  chapter  on  the  Saturday  Club  was  published 
in  the  New  England  Magazine  for  June,  1898,  and 
is  reprinted  through  the  kindiiess  of  the  publisher. 
It  has  been  revised,  however,  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  Horatio  Woodman  ;  and  the  facts  hi  regard 
to  his  life  are  now  given,  correcting  false  statements 
that  have  been  made  about  him. 

g.  w.  c. 


CHAPTER  I. 
ANCESTRY,  YOUTH,   AND    COLLEGE    LIFE. 

The  Dwight  family  is  a  widely  extended  one  in 
the  United  States,  and  has  included  a  large  num- 
ber of  statesmen,  judges,  authors,  college  presidents 
and  professors,  and  other  men  of  prominence  and 
influence.  Most  of  those  who  bear  the  name  are 
descendants  of  Mr.  John  Dwight,  one  of  the  orig- 
inal settlers  of  Dedham,  Mass.  One  branch  of  the 
family  located  in  Shirley,  Mass.,  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  Captain  John  Dwight,  a 
supposed  son  of  John  Dwight,  of  Medfield,  who 
was  descended  from  Michael  Dwight,  of  Dedham, 
was  born  about  the  year  1705,  became  a  sea  cap- 
tain, and  was  shipwrecked  in  1744.  He  left  a 
widow,  and  a  son  John,  aged  four,  who  was  brought 
up  in  Boston.  He  moved  to  Shirley,  where  he 
spent  his  life  as  a  farmer  and  a  stone-cutter.  He 
was  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  he  was  made 
partly  deaf  for  many  years  from  the  effects  of  a 
wound  received  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains.  He 
died  Oct.  6,  18 16,  as  the  result  of  accidental  poi- 
soning. 

The  children  of  John  Dwight,  of  Shirley,  were 
Susanna,  John,  Sally,  Betsey,  Francis,  Priscilla, 
Pamilla,  Sullivan.  The  eldest  son,  John,  was  born 
Dec.  22,  1776.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1800,  in  a  class  which  included  Charles  Lowell, 
D.D.,  Washington  Allston,  and  Judge  Lemuel 
Shaw.     He    studied    for  the    ministry,   but,  before 


2  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

entering  upon  the  work  of  his  profession,  found 
himself  rejecting  the  severe  Calvinism  in  which  he 
had  been  educated.  Then  he  studied  medicine 
with  the  celebrated  physician,  Dr.  John  Jeffries, 
and  settled  in  Boston.  He  was  only  moderately 
successful  as  a  medical  practitioner,  his  mind  being 
largely  occupied  with  mechanical  invention.  In 
religion  he  was  a  free-thinker,  and  of  a  very  radical 
kind  for  his  day.  Sincere  and  truth-loving,  he  re- 
fused to  accept  what  was  unworthy  of  God  and 
revolting  to  human  affection.  Speaking  at  his  fu- 
neral, Theodore  Parker  remarked :  "Our  friend  is 
said  to  have  held  opinions  which  are  not  popular. 
I  know  not  of  those  opinions;  but  this  I  do  know, 
—  that,  whatever  they  were,  he  was  true  to  them. 
And  greater  praise  could  be  given  to  no  man." 

Dr.  John  Dwight  married  Mary  Corey,  of  West 
Roxbury,  in  1812.  She  was  a  woman  of  "a  very 
simple,  modest,  childlike  nature,  fresh  in  her  feel- 
ings and  instincts,  and  of  a  lovely  disposition." 
She  was  a  handsome  woman,  sweet,  amiable,  and 
sensible,  of  exquisite  taste,  and  of  a  superior  char- 
acter. She  was  fond  of  reading,  had  good  literary 
judgment,  and  a  strong  liking  for  poetry.  Her 
nature  was  aesthetic  and  artistic  in  its  preferences. 
She  had  a  remarkable  appreciation  of  beauty,  and 
fine  taste  as  to  its  character  and  quality. 

To  Dr.  John  Dwight  and  his  wife  Mary  were 
born:  John  Sullivan,  May  13,  181 3;  Marianne, 
April  4,  1816;  Frances  Ellen,  Dec.  13,  181 9;  and 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Sept.  5,  1824.     It  was  natural 


ANCESTRY,  YOUTH,  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE    3 

that  the  eldest  son  should  take  the  name  of  his 
father,  since  it  had  for  generations  been  a  common 
Dwight  name.  The  second  name  was  that  of  his 
father's  youngest  brother,  who  was  for  many  years 
a  successful  marble-cutter  in  Thomaston,  Me.,  and 
a  militia  officer  of  some  note. 

John  Sullivan  Dwight  was  born  in  Court  Street, 
Boston,  in  a  house  which  is  now  standing.  He 
first  went  to  the  infant  school  of  "  Marm  English," 
who  was  patronized  by  many  of  the  ministers  and 
the  best  families.  He  next  went  to  the  grammar 
school  in  Derne  Street,  where  he  won  a  Franklin 
prize.  He  was  a  quiet,  studious  boy,  fond  of  his 
books. 

Young  Dwight  attended  the  Latin  School,  then 
taught  by  Benjamin  Gould,  where  he  took  prizes 
whenever  there  were  any,  and  secured  a  Franklin 
medal.  One  of  his  sisters  remembers  his  holding 
a  roll  of  paper  in  his  hand,  containing  notes  he  had 
collected  in  preparation  for  the  writing  of  a  prize 
essay.  His  mother  asked  him  if  he  would  not 
have  it  tied  with  a  ribbon,  and  he  said  he  was  will- 
ing to  have  it  tied  with  a  piece  of  twine  if  he  could 
secure  the  prize.  In  the  Latin  School,  Dwight 
made  rapid  progress,  and  took  high  standing  in  his 
class. 

One  of  his  sisters  remembers  that  John  first 
showed  a  taste  for  music  when  about  fifteen,  when 
he  heard  a  brass  band  playing  the  "  Hunter's 
Chorus";  and  he  followed  it  about.  From  that 
time   music  was    an    absorbing  interest  with  him. 


4  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

He  was  very  fond  of  attending  the  "  New  England 
Museum,"  kept  by  Thomas  Grainger,  who  was 
friendly  with  John's  father,  and  gave  the  family 
free  access  to  his  place  of  entertainment.  It  was 
not  the  animals  in  which  the  youth,  took  an  inter- 
est, but  the  music.  The  boy  was  passionately  fond 
of  street  music,  and  found  delight  in  a  street  organ, 
even  in  later  years. 

John  devoted  much  time  to  the  piano  and  flute. 
From  his  mother  he  gained  an  exquisite  love  of 
the  beautiful  and  a  fine  aesthetic  sensibility.  His 
father's  mechanical  skill  he  did  not  inherit  in  the 
least  degree,  but  from  his  mother  he  acquired  those 
intellectual  qualities  which  determined  all  his  after 
life. 

In  the  summer  of  1829  young  Dwight  entered 
Harvard  College,  "  carrying  thither,"  according  to 
his  own  statement,  "  perhaps  more  Latin  and  Greek 
(technically,  as  to  grammar,  at  least)  than  I  [he] 
brought  away."  Having  entered  college  better 
prepared  than  most  of  his  classmates,  he  did  not 
exert  himself  as  he  had  done  in  the  Latin  School, 
but  kept  a  respectable  standing  in  his  class.  He 
was  interested  in  music  far  more  than  in  any  pre- 
scribed college  study,  and  it  is  because  of  that  in- 
terest he  is  chiefly  remembered  by  his  companions. 
Music  was  then  no  part  of  the  college  course;  but 
Dwight  early  joined  the  Pierian  Sodality,  a  club 
of  students  for  musical  study  and  practice.  It 
furnished  the  music  for  the  exhibitions,  which 
was  thought    to  be  very  good.     It   was    then  the 


ANCESTRY,  YOUTH,  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE     5 

rule  of  the  college  that  prescribed  study  hours 
should  be  kept  by  the  students.  From  12  m.  to 
2  p.m.  was  a  time  of  intermission ;  and  the  moment 
the  bell  rang  the  noon  hour  Dwight  caught  up  his 
flute,  on  which  he  played  until  the  bell  rang  again 
for  study,  taking  barely  time  to  eat  his  dinner  in 
the  interval.  One  of  his  classmates  has  said  that 
his  heart  seemed  to  be  in  music  more  than  any- 
thing else. 

Of  this  period  Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson  fur- 
nishes these  reminiscences:  "I  have  always  known 
John  Dwight,  ever  since  he  and  two  other  young 
men  used  to  come  to  my  mother's  house  in  Cam- 
bridge, when  I  was  about  eleven,  and  play  flute 
trios  with  my  sister's  piano  accompaniment,  she 
being  a  fine  pianist.  One  was  the  late  C.  P. 
Cranch ;  and  the  third  was  William  Negle  Haber- 
sham, of  Georgia.  The  latter  had  a  silver  flute ; 
and  I  remember  John  Dwight's  saying,  '  It  has  a 
silver  tone,'  in  the  same  dreamy  and  ecstatic  way 
in  which  he  always  spoke  of  everything  musical. 
He  and  Cranch  were  then  divinity  students,  and 
Habersham  an  undergraduate.  The  latter  gradu- 
ated in  1836,  so  this  must  have  been  about  1835. 
I  don't  remember  what  music  they  played  (my 
sister  played  Beethoven,  who  was  then  a  novelty); 
but  I  remember  that  after  being  sent  up  to  bed  I 
was  allowed  to  leave  my  door  open,  and  went  to 
sleep  by  music.  Afterwards  I  read  with  pleasure 
of  the  boy  in  '  Charles  Auchester '  who  does  the 
same." 


6  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

In  an  account  of  the  musical  society  called  the 
Pierian  Sodality,  formed  in  1808,  and  still  flourish- 
ing, which  Dwight  wrote  for  the  "  Harvard  Book," 
he  gives  some  interesting  reminiscences  of  his 
college  days.  "  When  the  Sodality  began  to  play 
at  college  exhibitions,"  he  wrote,  "  or  when  the 
flutes  came  in,  and,  with  those  soft,  persuasive  in- 
struments, of  course  the  serenading,  we  are  not 
informed.  Both  practices  were  fully  in  vogue 
when  we  first  heard  the  Pierians,  in  1827-28,  and 
were  kept  up,  with  occasional  interruptions,  for 
many  a  year  afterwards.  Shall  we  forget  the  scene 
of  the  Exhibition  Day,  when  the  Latin  School  boy, 
on  the  eve  of  entering  college,  eager  to  catch  a 
glimpse  beforehand  of  the  promised  land,  went  out 
to  University  Hall,  and  for  the  first  time  heard  and 
saw,  up  there  in  the  side  (north)  gallery,  the  little 
group  of  Pierians,  with  their  ribbons  and  their 
medals  and  their  shining  instruments,  among  them 
the  protruding,  long,  and  lengthening  monster,  the 
trombone,  wielded  with  an  air  of  gravity  and 
dignity  by  one  who  now  ranks  among  our  most 
distinguished  scholars,  orators,  and  statesmen? 
Had  any  strains  of  band  or  orchestra  ever 
sounded  so  sweet  to  the  expectant  Freshman's 
ears  as  those?  And  was  not  he,  too,  captivated 
and  converted  to  the  gospel  of  the  college  flute, 
as  the  transcendent  and  most  eloquent  of  instru- 
ments? Nevertheless  within  a  year  or  two  he 
chose  the  reedy  clarionet,  wherewith  to  lead  a 
little  preparatory  club, —  the  purgatory  which  half- 


ANCESTRY,  YOUTH,  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE    7 

fledged  musicians  of  his  own  ilk  had  to  pass 
through  before  they  could  be  candidates  for  the 
Pierian  paradise.  This  was  called  the  Arionic 
Society;  and,  if  its  utmost  skill  was  discord,  the 
struggle  of  its  members  for  promotion  into  the 
higher  order  was  persistent.  We  think  it  was 
founded  some  years  later  than  the  Sodality,  for 
which  it  was  in  some  sense  the  noisy  nursery.  How 
long  it  lasted,  we  know  not.  The  Sodality  in  our 
day,  under  the  presidency  of  accomplished  flutists 
(Isaac  Appleton  Jewett,  Boott,  and  Graham),  was 
comparatively  rich  in  instruments.  Besides  the 
flutes  (first,  second,  third,  and  several  of  each),  we 
had  the  clarionet,  a  pair  of  French  horns,  violon- 
cello, and  part  of  the  time  a  nondescript  bass  horn." 
Dwight's  love  of  poetry  and  the  best  literature 
was  only  less  than  his  love  of  music.  He  read 
much  in  the  best  authors,  and  his  literary  exercises 
showed  his  strong  literary  taste.  In  his  Junior  year 
he  read  an  original  poem  before  the  Hasty  Pud- 
ding Club,  in  the  middle  of  the  Senior  year  he 
lectured  on  music  before  the  Northborough  Ly- 
ceum, and  a  few  weeks  before  graduation  he  gave 
a  paper  on  poetry  before  the  Harvard  Union.  On 
graduation,  July  17,  1832,  Dwight  furnished  the 
class  poem,  which  contained  thirty  nine-line  stanzas. 
These  facts  hint  at  his  excellent  standing  in  a  class 
which  contained  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Henry 
W.  Bellows,  Charles  T.  Brooks,  Estes  Howe, 
Samuel  Osgood,  and  John  Holmes,  brother  of 
the  poet. 


8  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

A  part  of  his  Senior  year  was  spent  by  Dwight 
in  teaching  at  Northborough.  His  letters  do  not 
indicate  that  he  fully  enjoyed  the  occupation  or 
that  the  pupils  he  had  under  him  were  such  as  to 
enlist  his  intellectual  sympathies.  He  introduced 
music  into  his  school,  and  he  found  such  comfort 
as  he  could  in  the  social  life  of  the  place.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1832,  he  entered  the  Divinity  School  of 
Harvard  College,  After  taking  up  the  studies  of 
the  next  year,  he  left  in  October,  and  went  to  Mead- 
ville,  Penn.,  to  serve  as  a  tutor  in  the  family  of 
Mr.  H.  J.  Huidekoper.  He  greatly  enjoyed  his 
stay  in  that  place,  the  family  in  which  he  was 
placed,  the  young  people  whose  education  he 
guided,  and  his  own  opportunities  for  reading  and 
study.  He  was  the  leading  spirit  in  organizing 
a  lyceum  in  Meadville,  before  which  he  gave  the 
first  lecture,  taking  for  his  subject  "  Education."  In 
August,  1834,  he  returned  to  the  Divinity  School; 
and  he  completed  the  course  of  study  in  August, 
1836.  On  graduation  he  gave  a  dissertation  on 
"  The  Proper  Character  of  Poetry  and  Music  for 
Public  Worship,"  which  was  published  in  the 
Christian  Examiner  for  November,  1836.  This 
paper  was  a  plea  for  the  recognition  of  music 
on  its  own  merits  and  as  a  means  of  genuine 
culture. 

In  the  Divinity  School,  as  in  the  college,  Dwight's 
one  great  interest  was  music.  Near  his  own  were 
the  rooms  of  his  lifelong  friends,  Theodore  Parker 
and  Christopher  P.  Cranch.     Parker  had   no  love 


ANCESTRY,  YOUTH,  AND   COLLEGE  LIFE    9 

of  music  and  no  capacity  for  its  production,  but 
Cranch  was  only  less  devoted  to  it  than  Dwight. 
When  the  two  music-lovers  were  one  evening  play- 
ing together,  they  heard  a  great  din  in  the  hall. 
On  Dwight's  opening  the  door,  Parker  was  discov- 
ered sawing  wood.  When  asked  why  he  was  so 
engaged  in  that  place,  he  replied,  "  You  disturb 
me  with  your  music  when  I  wish  to  study,  and  I 
will  have  my  fun  in  return."  He  kept  on  with  his 
sawing  until  the  music  was  silenced. 

On  Exhibition  Day  in  July,  1837,  a  number  of 
graduates,  who  had  been  members  of  the  Pierian 
Sodality,  met  with  the  students  who  were  then 
members ;  and  the  conversation  turned  on  the  work 
of  the  little  society.  It  was  suggested  that  a  soci- 
ety be  formed  of  graduates  for  the  purpose  of  meet- 
ing regularly  at  Commencement  each  year.  A 
committee  was  at  once  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan 
for  such  society,  of  which  Dwight  was  made  a  mem- 
ber. He  wrote  to  Cranch :  "  The  plan  proposed 
has  been  very  warmly  met.  Many  gentlemen  of 
high  character  have  answered  that  they  will  come, 
and  do  all  that  they  can  to  promote  the  objects 
contemplated.  Some  engage  to  contribute  liberally 
towards  a  fund."  On  Commencement  Day,  August 
30,  a  meeting  was  held  in  response  to  a  circular 
sent  out  to  all  the  former  members  of  the  Sodality, 
inviting  them  to  attend.  The  report  of  the  com- 
mittee was  prepared  by  Dwight,  by  whom  it  was 
read.  He  proposed  two  objects  for  the  society  con- 
templated, the  first  that  of  holding  an  annual  meet- 


io  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

ing  on  Commencement  Day  of  those  interested  in 
music,  and  the  second  that  of  securing  the  advance- 
ment of  the  cause  of  music,  particularly  in  the  uni- 
versity. 

The  society  took  the  name  of  the  General  As- 
sociation of  the  Members  of  the  Pierian  Sodality. 
Henry  Ware,  D.D.,  was  elected  the  president,  and 
D wight  the  vice-president.  In  1840  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  Harvard  Musical  Association.  In 
1845  tne  society  was  incorporated,  and  in  1848  it 
began  to  hold  its  meetings  in  Boston.  From  the 
beginning  the  society  took  the  position  that  "  the 
science  and  art  of  music  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  a 
system  of  liberal  education,  and  deserving  of  culti- 
vation by  educated  men."  It  took  for  its  definite 
object  to  secure  "  the  introduction  of  music  as  a 
regular  branch  of  instruction,  and  the  cultivation  of 
musical  taste  and  science  in  Harvard  University." 


CHAPTER  II. 
PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING. 

In  July,  1836,  John  S.  Dwight  entered  upon  his 
work  as  a  preacher;  but  three  years  and  a  half 
passed  before  he  had  a  pulpit  of  his  own.  He  was 
idle  but  few  Sundays,  but  the  parishes  evidently 
were  not  wholly  pleased  with  his  preaching.  He 
saw  his  own  limitations  with  reference  to  his  chosen 
profession.  In  a  letter  written  in  Boston,  Febru- 
ary, 1837,  he  said  to  Theodore  Parker,  "  I  am  al- 
most afraid  that  I  cannot  succeed  as  a  preacher." 

"  You  ask  me  to  point  out  your  faults,"  wrote 
Parker  from  Salem,  March  14.  "I  can  in  no  wise 
refuse,  since  you  did  me  the  same  favor  you  ask.  I 
fear  to  touch  the  subject,  but  will  attempt  it.  Let 
me  begin  by  stating  some  of  your  merits  by  way  of 
offset  to  what  is  to  follow.  You  have  a  deep  love 
of  the  beautiful,  strong  likings  and  keen  dislikings, 
a  quick  discernment,  a  deep  love  of  freedom.  I  love 
the  spontaneity  of  reason  displayed  in  your  mind 
and  the  beautiful  active  power  of  your  imagination. 
But  I  must  speak  of  '  faults '  under  each  of  these 
heads.  You  do  not  always  see  the  beautiful  clearly. 
The  beautiful  is  not  sharply  defined,  so  you  love 
vagueness,  mistaking  the  indefinite  for  the  Infinite, 
and,  like  Ixion  of  old,  embracing  a  cloud  instead  of 
a  goddess.  You  surround  yourself  with  the  per- 
fumed clouds  of  music.  You  mingle  the  same  per- 
fume and  melody  in  your  sermons,  but  you  carry 
all  the  vagueness  of  musical  clouds  where  clearness 


12  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

and  precision  are  virtues.  Thus  you  will  be  feeble 
in  expression  where  your  feeling  is  strong.  You 
place  the  beauty  of  action  in  unconsciousness.  This 
is  wrong, —  profoundly  wrong.  Babes  are  uncon- 
scious. Instructed  men  act  with  will,  therefore  are 
they  moral,  god-like.  You  confound  tranquillity  and 
unconsciousness ;  but  Tranquillity  is  the  daughter 
of  Volition  and  Love,  their  favorite  though  young- 
est child.  You  are  deficient  in  will.  This  is  the 
most  important  statement  I  have  to  make. 

"  Your  strong  likings  sometimes  lead  you  where 
you  would  not  go.  Your  dislikes  make  you  shrink 
from  others  who,  you  have  a  presentiment,  are  not 
congenial  souls.  Thus  you  are  often  misunder- 
stood, often  neglected  by  such  as  are  really  con- 
genial, born  of  the  same  parent. 

"  Your  quick  discernment  leads  you  away  some- 
times. What  you  catch  at  the  first  or  second 
grasp,  you  hold ;  but  you  are  not  a  patient  thinker. 
This  proceeds  from  want  of  will.  You  oftentimes 
go  down  very  deep  into  the  hidden  things  of  nat- 
ure and  see  visions ;  but  you  descry  only  half  of  a 
truth,  which  often  leads  to  a  whole  error.  If  you 
would  add  reflection  to  your  list  of  cardinal  virtues 
of  the  mind,  and  apply  it  to  the  rich  elements  of 
thought  which  the  spontaneous  reason  affords  you, 
you  will  be  a  great  man.  This  want  of  will-con- 
trolled thought  has  prevented  your  doing  anything 
worthy  of  yourself.  You  have  done  fine  things, 
but  they  are  nothing  to  what  you  can  and  ought 
to  do. 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  13 

"  Your  love  of  freedom  makes  you  despise  law. 
Now  a  man  is  only  free  by  keeping  the  law  of  his 
being,  '  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,'  as  Paul  calls  it. 
You  have  not  will  enough  to  be  free.  Impulse  as- 
sumes the  place  of  will  with  you.  Sometimes  it 
carries  you  where  reason  would  perhaps  reluct  to 
go.  Now  the  will  cannot  be  the  impelling  power, 
but  it  should  be  a  directing.  Without  this  man  is 
like  a  straw  in  the  waters.  You  have  a  beautiful 
sentiment;  but  you  need  a  firm  principle  to  give 
consistency,  vigor,  and  selbst-standigkeit.  You 
have  read  the  little  note  upon  Schubert  at  the  end 
of  the  Life  of  Schiller :  it  is  full  of  instruction. 

"  I  admire  your  imagination :  it  is  really  creative, 
not  merely  a  sickly  fancy ;  but  it  makes  you  dream 
when  you  should  do.  Duty,  not  dreaming,  is  for 
men.  You  must  get  a  place  in  the  real  world  be- 
fore you  can  walk  into  the  ideal  like  a  gentleman. 
Nobody  can  scramble  into  heaven :  even  the  giants 
piled  Pelion  upon  Ossa  before  they  attempted  it. 
I  have  suspected  that  your  ideals  are  incapable  of 
realization.  So  are  all,  you  will  say.  .  True,  but 
only  on  account  of  the  narrowness  of  Space  and  the 
lowness  of  Time ;  while  I  suspect  yours  of  an  in- 
trinsic defect,  that  they  sometimes  involve  a  contra- 
diction, and  so  would  commit  suicide  before  they 
were  of  age." 

In  writing  to  Dwight  three  months  before  the 
above  letter  was  written,  Parker  had  asked  his 
friend  to  point  out  all  the  faults  which  he  found 
most  prominent  in  his  character,  both  intellectual 


14  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

and  moral.  To  this  Dwight  replied  a  few  days 
later  in  these  words :  "  I  may  hint  to  you  some- 
thing about  your  character,  as  I  would  to  myself 
about  my  own,  rather  in  the  wray  of  cautious  suspi- 
cion than  passing  any  actual  judgment.  I  fear 
that  I  have  not  enough  of  the  element  of  will  in 
me.  I  cannot  judge  people.  I  can  only  regard 
what  I  see  in  them  as  the  manifestations  of  a 
peculiar  nature.  I  have  strong  likings,  strong  an- 
tipathies ;  but  I  do  not  feel  it  necessary  to  praise 
or  blame.  Still,  I  should  be  unworthy  of  the  con- 
fidence you  have  reposed  in  me  if  I  did  not  speak 
to  you  openly.  I  shall  try  to  merit  the  confidence 
you  have  placed  in  my  good  will  and  candor, 
though  I  would  not  have  you  place  too  much  in 
my  judgment. 

"  I  always  thought  you  had  faults ;  but,  as  I  try 
to  touch  them,  they  slip  away.  Therefore,  let  me 
commence  systematically ;  and,  first,  whatever  may 
be  your  habitual  principles,  motives,  tendencies, 
passions,  you  do  not  fail  at  all  in  the  resolution  to 
act  them  out.  Whatever  you  wish,  you  will ;  and, 
what  you  will,  you  effect.  This  I  have  admired  in 
you,  perhaps  because  I  am  so  passive.  But  yet 
even  this  virtue  you  carry  to  a  degree  which  is  dis- 
agreeable to  me.  I  don't  like  to  see  a  man  have 
too  much  will:  it  mars  the  beauty  of  nature.  You 
seem,  as  the  phrenologist  said, '  goaded  on.'  Your 
life  seems  a  succession  of  convulsive  efforts,  and 
the  only  wonder  is  to  me  that  they  don't  exhaust 
you.      You   continually   recover  and  launch  forth 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  15 

again.  This  circumstance  makes  me  somewhat 
mistrust  my  own  judgment  about  this  trait.  Still, 
it  is  painful  for  me  to  see  a  being  whom  I  respect 
and  love  anything  but  calm.  I  like  not  impetuosity, 
except  that  of  unconscious  impulse.  You  distrust 
those  who  are  unlike  yourself.  You  fancy  them  re- 
straints upon  you,  and  then  your  faith  in  your  own 
energies  and  ideas  speaks  out  in  a  tone  of  almost 
bitter  contempt  for  the  world  and  those  who  do  not 
think  and  feel  as  you  do.  You  feel  that  such  senti- 
ments as  you  cherish  ought  to  triumph,  but  you 
find  the  world  courting  men  who  pursue  inferior 
aims.  Coupled  with  your  high  ideal  is  an  impa- 
tient wish  to  see  it  immediately  realized, —  two 
things  which  don't  go  well  together;  for  the  one 
prompts  you  to  love,  the  other,  soured  by  necessary 
disappointment,  prompts  to  hate,  at  least  contempt. 
"  I  think  your  love  of  learning  is  a  passion,  that 
it  injures  your  mind  by  converting  insensibly  what 
is  originally  a  pure  thirst  for  truth  into  a  greedy, 
avaricious,  jealous  striving,  not  merely  to  know,  but 
to  get  all  there  is  known.  Don't  you  often  turn 
aside  from  your  own  reflection  from  a  fear  of 
losing  what  another  has  said  or  written  on  the  sub- 
ject ?  Hav^  you  not  too  much  of  a  mania  for  all 
printed  things, —  as  if  books  were  the  symbols  of 
that  truth  to  which  the  student  aspires  ?  You 
write,  you  read,  you  talk,  you  think,  in  a  hurry, 
for  fear  of  not  getting  all.  Tell  me  if  I  conject- 
ure wrongly,  and  pardon  this  weak  but  sincere  at- 
tempt to  answer  your  questions.  Your  friend  and 
brother." 


16  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

These  letters  indicate  the  sensitive,  refined,  and 
unworldly  cast  of  Dwight's  character,  and  the  aloof- 
ness of  his  heart  and  mind  from  the  commonplaces 
of  the  world.  His  letter  to  Parker  reveals  his  own 
character  more  fully  than  does  Parker's  to  him, 
and  shows  clearly  his  want  of  an  incisive  and  dom- 
inating will-power.  A  letter  from  Rev.  H.  W.  Bel- 
lows to  D wight,  written  in  the  autumn  of  1836, 
hints  of  the  fears  Dwight's  intimate  friends  had 
deep  at  heart  as  to  his  future.  "  A  good  many  of 
your  friends,"  his  classmate  writes,  "  who  admire 
your  genius,  fear,  I  think,  whether  it  is  destined  to 
have  a  full  manifestation.  Their  fears  and  mine 
are  founded  upon  a  certain  contempt  you  have  for 
the  details  of  life,  for  the  common  modes  of  useful- 
ness, for  the  use  of  means.  They  fear  for  your  sta- 
bility. They  fear  for  your  nonconformity  to  circum- 
stances. Have  they  any  grounds  ?  Do  you  feel 
any  radical  weakness  of  purpose,  any  consciousness 
that  you  are  destined  to  dream  bright  dreams, 
and  wake  to  weep  over  their  vanity?  You  may 
have  the  character  of  being  dreamy,  irresolute,  and 
impracticable,  with  a  consciousness  all  the  while  of 
a  lofty  destiny  of  usefulness  in  the  world.  Forgive 
me  for  touching  this  matter,  but  I  express  a  feel- 
ing that  has  sometimes  cast  a  doubt  upon  my  mind 
as  to  your  prospects  of  happiness.  I  have  feared 
that  your  fortunes  might  be  those  of  genius  too 
often  without  sympathy,  too  often  disastrous." 

D wight  did  not  always  feel  in  the  discouraged 
mood  in  which   he  wrote  to    Parker,  and  he  had 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  17 

more  than  one  occasion  for  feeling  that  his  work  in 
the  pulpit  was  acceptable.  In  1837  Rev.  S.  D.  Rob- 
bins,  of  Lynn,  wrote  to  him,  "  Your  services  were 
not  only  acceptable,  but  more  than  profitable;  and 
I  am  grateful  to  you  for  their  benefit."  In  1839 
Rev.  E.  Q.  Sewall,  of  Scituate,  wrote  him :  "  I  can- 
not refuse  myself  the  satisfaction  of  letting  you 
know  how  exceedingly  and  universally  pleased  my 
society  were  with  your  services.  It  was  delightful 
to  me  to  see  the  quantity  of  intellectual  and  moral 
activity  which  seemed  the  product  directly  of  your 
word  and  theme." 

In  June,  1837,  D wight  received  a  request  from 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  that  he  supply  the  pulpit 
of  the  church  in  East  Lexington.  To  this  congre- 
gation, newly  formed,  Emerson  had  been  preach- 
ing for  about  two  years.  The  people  were  of  the 
anti-slavery  and  radical  type,  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent ;  and  Emerson's  preaching  had  been  very  satis- 
factory. He  had  grown  to  strongly  dislike  the 
pulpit  as  a  place  for  himself,  however;  and  he 
quietly  omitted  on  one  Sunday  the  public  prayer, 
finding  it  not  in  consonance  with  his  mood.  He 
was  anxious  to  find  some  one  to  take  his  place,  and 
to  relieve  him  of  the  drive  every  Sunday  from  Con- 
cord. Dwight  spent  a  few  Sundays  with  this  little 
congregation;  and  in  February,  1838,  he  received 
this  letter  from  Emerson :  — 

"  I  was  at  East  Lexington  yesterday,  and  ex- 
plained my  wish  to  relinquish  the  charge  of  the 
pulpit  to  Mr.  Morrill ;  and  he  talked  with  the  com- 


18  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

mittee.  They  are  very  glad  to  know  that  you  are 
disposed  to  come, —  the  committee  for  themselves, 
—  and  they  think  it  agreeable  to  all.  But  they  are 
so  systematically  prudent  that  they  think  it  will  for 
the  present  be  better  if  I  engaged  to  supply  the 
desk,  and  then  send  you,  than  if  they  agree  with 
you  at  first  hand. 

"  So  I  am  to  come  once  or  twice  in  person  be- 
tween now  and  the  first  of  May,  when  my  engage- 
ment expires ;  and  then,  if  agreeable  to  you,  I  am 
to  renew  the  engagement,  but  with  the  understand- 
ing that  you  are  to  take  the  entire  charge,  only 
calling  me  in  if  any  particular  contingency  should 
make  it  desirable.  I  am  agreeably  astonished  at 
arriving  at  the  dignity  of  patronage,  and  you  may 
be  sure  I  shall  be  sufficiently  ostentatious  of  it. 
Meantime  I  shall  depend  on  you  to  go  there  next 
Sunday,  and  thereafter.  When  I  see  you,  I  will  fix 
some  day  when  I  should  go  before  May." 

For  something  more  than  a  year  Dwight  con- 
tinued to  supply  the  East  Lexington  pulpit,  being 
absent,  however,  more  than  half  of  the  time.  His 
preaching  did  not  wholly  satisfy  the  congregation, 
and  he  was  not  invited  to  settle.  He  is  still  re- 
membered in  the  parish  with  much  regard  for  his 
enthusiastic  love  of  nature  and  his  passionate  de- 
votion to  music.  "  He  was  all  music,"  say  those 
who  knew  him, —  full  of  interesting  talk  about  the 
art,  and  constantly  improvising  on  the  piano,  when 
one  was  within  reach.  He  was  shy,  bashful,  diffi- 
dent in  the  extreme,  sensitive  to  surroundings  and 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  19 

especially  as  to  persons,  and  caring  little  for  those 
not  of  his  own  taste  and  quality.  He  was  also 
greatly  interested  in  German ;  was  then  giving 
much  time  to  its  study,  and  to  translation  of  the 
German  poets.  In  his  visits  to  the  parish,  German 
books  and  music,  and  whatever  books  he  happened 
to  be  interested  in  at  the  time,  went  with  him,  and 
were  freely  talked  of  to  those  who  would  listen  to 
him.  His  sermons  were  often  written  on  Saturday 
night  and  Sunday  morning,  a  considerable  part  of 
the  night  being  devoted  to  them.  This  practice  he 
kept  up  so  long  as  he  occupied  a  pulpit. 

Dwight  was  dependent  upon  those  who  heard 
him  for  whatever  success  he  attained  in  the  pulpit. 
If  people  did  not  hear  him  gladly,  he  felt  at  once 
the  depression  of  the  situation ;  but,  where  he  was 
cordially  welcomed,  his  mood  rose  to  the  highest 
level.  In  May,  1839,  he  spent  three  Sundays  in 
Bangor,  Me.,  in  the  pulpit  of  Rev.  F.  H.  Hedge. 
On  the  second  Sunday  he  wrote  to  one  of  his  sis- 
ters :  "  I  enjoy  myself  exceedingly,  and  I  feel  fifty 
per  cent,  better  every  way  than  when  I  left  Boston. 
I  receive  the  most  cordial  and  constant  attentions 
from  the  people ;  in  fact,  never  was  made  nearly  so 
much  of  anywhere.  So  many  call  upon  me,  or  in- 
vite me  to  ride,  to  tea,  and  what  not,  that  I  get 
little  time  to  work  or  to  brood  over  my  thought; 
and  that  is  just  what  I  want.  There  is  much  more 
refined  society  than  I  anticipated  in  Bangor.  Mr. 
Hedge's  society  includes  the  most  of  this  better 
part.     What  makes  me  feel  doubly  at  home  here 


20  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

is  the  fact  that  Mr.  Emerson  was  here  some  years 
ago,  and  interested  the  people  very  much.  I  have 
never  got  so  cordial  a  hearing  for  my  free  utter- 
ances as  here.  They  are  an  active,  public-spirited 
people,  and  are  not  afraid." 

During  these  years  of  waiting  Dwight  was  not 
idle  with  his  pen.  In  1838  he  wrote  reviews  of 
Tennyson's  "  Poems "  and  Gardner's  "  Music  of 
Nature "  for  the  Christiaiz  Examiner.  During 
1839  he  wrote  on  Schiller's  "  William  Tell  "  and 
Dickens's  "  Oliver  Twist,"  and  in  1840  he  furnished 
to  the  same  review  an  article  on  "  Spenser's 
Poems."  It  was  good  work  he  put  into  these 
criticisms,  somewhat  youthful  and  enthusiastic,  but 
sound  and  wholesome.  His  review  of  Tennyson 
was  the  earliest  published  in  this  country,  and  was 
marked  by  his  independent  and  appreciative  spirit. 

His  chief  work  at  this  time,  however,  was  the 
translation  of  the  minor  poems  of  Goethe  and 
Schiller  for  the  series  of  volumes  edited  by  his 
friend  George  Ripley,  under  the  general  title  of 
"  Specimens  of  Foreign  Standard  Literature."  The 
second  volume  in  this  series  appeared  in  the  latter 
part  of  1838,  with  the  title  "  Select  Minor  Poems, 
translated  from  the  German  of  Goethe  and  Schiller, 
with  Notes."  Dwight  translated  most  of  the  poems 
from  Goethe,  and  somewhat  less  than  half  of  those 
from  Schiller ;  and  he  edited  the  volume,  furnish- 
ing the  eighty  pages  of  notes.  The  plan  of  the 
volume  is  given  in  a  letter  which  Dwight  sent  to 
Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  then  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
asking  for  his  aid  in  its  preparation  :  — 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  21 

"  Knowing  you  to  be  a  friend  of  Goethe  and 
Schiller,  I  may  venture  to  ask  your  assistance  in 
the  volume  which  I  am  preparing,  and  which  is  to 
consist  of  the  principal  '  minor  poems  '  of  those 
two  authors.  My  plan  is  to  present  a  faithful  trans- 
lation of  all  the  most  characteristic  and  important 
lyrics  of  these  two  men,  so  selected  and  arranged 
as  to  exhibit  as  much  as  possible  of  their  spirit,  and 
in  some  measure  to  tell  their  internal  history,  to 
mark  the  different  phases  through  which  their 
minds  passed,  to  show  them  as  they  were  acted 
upon  by  the  circumstances  of  their  terrestrial  edu- 
cation. Thus  of  Schiller  I  should  wish  to  give 
some  specimens  of  his  earliest  and  most  impas- 
sioned poetry,  and  then  some  which  is  more 
tinged  with  his  philosophical  speculations,  and  all 
of  those  riper  and  calmer  productions  of  thought 
and  views  of  life.  Of  Goethe  I  would  not  omit  his 
pantheistic  pieces,  which  come  under  the  general 
title  of  '  God  and  the  World,'  although  these  will 
be  very  difficult  to  accomplish. 

"  I  am  to  have  the  assistance  of  Professors  Long- 
fellow and  Felton,  of  Rev.  Dr.  Frothingham,  of 
Miss  M.  Fuller,  C.  T.  Brooks,  etc.,  all  of  whom 
have  entered  upon  the  work  with  spirit.  But  we 
must  fill  out  three  hundred  and  fifty  pages,  and 
execute  all  with  great  care,  so  that  we  need  a  good 
deal  of  assistance.  I  hope  you  will  take  mercy 
upon  me  in  my  desperate  expedition,  and  send  me 
something. 

"  As  to  the  method   of  translation,  I  wish  in  all 


22  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

cases  to  preserve  the  form  as  well  as  the  spirit;  for 
in  lyric  poetry  the  form  is  part  of  the  substance. 
To  retain  the  very  idea  of  the  author,  with  the  exact 
rhythm  and  rhyme,  and  the  fervor  and  grace  of  ex- 
pression, is  the  ideal  to  which  we  ought  certainly  to 
aim;  and  then  it  will  not  be  our  fault  if  we  fall 
short." 

Besides  those  persons  mentioned  in  this  letter, 
Dwight  had  the  assistance  of  George  Bancroft, 
William  H.  Channing,  Frederic  H.  Hedge,  and 
Christopher  P.  Cranch.  He  did  not  have  the  aid, 
however,  of  Felton  and  Longfellow. 

Into  the  notes  much  labor  was  put,  and  of  a  help- 
ful kind.  The  first  one  was  of  considerable  length, 
and  presented  Dwight's  theory  of  translation.  The 
other  notes  gave  the  circumstances  of  the  writing 
of  the  poems,  and  such  explanations  as  made  them 
readable  by  those  not  familiar  with  the  literary  his- 
tory of  the  two  poets. 

An  interesting  incident  in  connection  with  this 
book  was  its  dedication,  in  these  words :  "  To 
Thomas  Carlyle,  as  a  slight  token  of  admiration 
and  gratitude,  this  volume  is  respectfully  inscribed 
by  the  Translator."  In  October,  1838,  Dwight 
wrote  in  this  wise  for  permission  to  insert  this 
dedication:  — 

"  My  friend,  Mr.  R.  W.  Emerson,  whom  I  had  de- 
sired to  write  to  you  and  make  a  rather  presumptu- 
ous request  in  my  behalf,  has  exhorted  me  to  do  the 
thing  myself.  As  a  young  student  of  German  let- 
ters, following  out  gratefully,  but  unworthily,   the 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  23 

impulse  which  he  owes  in  great  part  to  your  writ- 
ings, and  now  about  to  present  some  of  the  first- 
fruits  of  his  studies  to  the  public,  in  the  shape  of 
translations,  will  you  allow  me  the  gratification  of 
dedicating  them  to  you  ?  The  whole  task  has 
been  pleasant  to  me,  though  I  fear  for  the  result. 
It  has  been,  on  my  part,  active  conversation  with 
greater  minds,  and  an  attempt  to  get  nearer  to 
them  by  striving  to  reproduce  some  of  their  works. 
What  I  have  to  show  for  it  will  show  most  un- 
worthily, no  doubt ;  but  it  has  been  honest,  hearty 
labor,  and  has  met  with  such  sincere  encourage- 
ment from  a  circle  of  friends  whose  judgment  I  re- 
spect, and  whose  sympathies  are  with  the  highest, 
that  I  have  determined  to  let  it  go  forth,  and  to 
let  Goethe  and  Schiller  appear  in  such  imperfect 
copies  as  I  have  been  able  to  make  of  some  of  their 
divine  lyrics  in  the  moments  when  they  have  most 
filled  my  fancy  and  spoken  to  my  experience. 
That  I  have  done  them  in  this  way  is  my  only 
hope  for  them.  It  makes  them  sweet  memorials  to 
myself,  though  they  may  look  poorly  to  others.  In 
filling  up  a  volume,  however,  some  things  have  had 
to  be  done  mechanically,  more  for  completeness' 
sake,  and  for  others,  than  from  any  special  impulse 
of  my  own ;  and  this  the  more  as  I  have  adopted 
and  carried  out  the  principle,  in  translating  these 
poems,  of  preserving  the  form  always  with  the 
spirit,  as  being,  in  fact,  inseparable  from  it  in  a 
lyric.  Generally,  I  have  caught  the  music  of  the 
piece,  and  walked   about  with  it   ringing  through 


24  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

me,  while  I  pondered  and  digested  the  substance, 
and  in  this  way  has  the  literal  imitation  become 
natural  and  free. 

"  The  book  is  to  be  one  of  the  series  of  '  Speci- 
mens of  Foreign  Standard  Literature,'  edited  by 
Rev.  George  Ripley,  and  will  be  entitled  '  Se- 
lect Minor  Poems  from  Goethe  and  Schiller.'  It 
will  contain  a  pretty  full  collection  of  the  songs, 
ballads,  etc.,  of  those  men,  and  many  of  the  philo- 
sophical and  art  poems  and  dithyrambics  of  Goethe. 
I  have  selected  chiefly  such  pieces  as  have  struck 
my  fancy,  such  as  steal  upon  my  memory  at 
times  as  fit  representations  of  inward  experiences, 
wherein  all  must  recognize  something  of  their  own. 
Several  translations  have  been  contributed  by  my 
friends,  among  whose  names,  possibly,  you  will  rec- 
ognize one  or  two  acquaintances.  This  account  of 
the  plan  of  the  work,  of  the  feelings  and  methods 
with  which  it  has  been  growing  together  most  nat- 
urally and  pleasantly,  I  have  felt  bound  to  give  you 
before  asking  leave  to  connect  your  name  with  it 
in  any  way.  Most  pleasant  of  all  will  it  be,  when 
it  is  all  done,  to  inscribe  one  page  to  the  most  suc- 
cessful interpreter  of  the  beauties  and  deep  wealth 
and  wisdom  of  German  mind  to  the  English 
people,  with  whom,  in  spirit  at  least,  we  younger 
and  ruder  Americans,  New  Englanders,  claim  to  be 
numbered.  Most  pleasant  will  it  be  to  acknowl- 
edge many  a  deep  inward  obligation,  which  the 
young  man  in  his  self-culture  feels  to  the  friendly 
spirit  that  goes  before  him,  leaving  such   a  pure 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  25 

light  behind  him,  to  surprise  and  invite  the  hum- 
blest onward." 

"  Your  very  courteous  letter  has  just  been 
handed  to  me,"  Carlyle  wrote  in  reply.  "  I  answer 
without  delay,  what  you  have  reason  to  expect,  that 
I  am  flattered  and  honored  by  your  proposal ;  that, 
if  such  a  dedication  can  seem  in  any  way  desirable 
to  you,  it  cannot  be  other  than  gratifying  to  me. 

"  My  best  wishes  go  with  you  in  your  enterprise. 
Among  the  Germans  are  to  be  found  true  singers : 
the  only  true  ones  we  have  had  for  a  great  while, 
with  any  such  compass  of  melody ;  the  last  we  are 
likely  to  have,  I  think,  for  a  great  while.  You  do 
well  to  unseal  their  voices  for  them  in  that  great 
western  land.  They  are  countrymen,  kinsmen  of 
ours,  these  Deutschen ;  and  truly,  in  the  speaking 
or  singing  department,  the  chief  of  the  family  at 
present.  In  the  doing  and  divining  department, 
again  we  Saxons,  Englanders  New  and  Old,  may 
set  up  for  the  first.     Honor  to  each  after  his  kind ! 

"  Your  mood  of  mind  is  the  right  one  for  a  trans- 
lator. The  tune  of  a  Poem,  especially  if  it  be  a 
Goethe's  Poem,  is  the  soul  of  the  whole,  round 
which  all,  the  very  thoughts  no  less  than  the  words, 
shapes  and  modulates  itself.  The  tune  is  to  be  got 
hold  of  before  anything  else  is  got.  And  yet  each 
language  has  its  genius,  its  capabilities.  Your  task 
is  a  difficult  one.  For  the  rest  there  is  no  alchemy 
like  good  will. 

"  It  is  several  years  now  since  I  quitted  that 
province  of  things,  but  I  feel  still  and  shall  ever 


26  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

feel  its  great  importance  to  the  whole  modern 
world ;  and  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to  me,  on  looking 
round,  to  observe  so  many  generous  fellow-laborers, 
on  this  side  of  the  ocean  and  on  that,  who  have 
taken  up  the  cause  in  such  a  fashion  as  to  insure 
fair  play  to  it  in  the  long  run.     Go  on,  and  prosper. 

"  May  I  ask  you  to  present  my  kind  remem- 
brances to  Mr.  Ripley?  I  have  many  friends  in 
your  country  whom  I  know  not  how  to  thank.  If 
you  see  Emerson,  say  I  wrote  to  him  lately  out  of 
Scotland,  and  mean  to  write  again  in  some  two 
weeks  by  a  speedier  conveyance." 

On  the  appearance  of  the  book  a  copy  was  at 
once  sent  to  Carlyle,  with  a  note  of  thanks  and  ex- 
planation. In  due  time  there  came  in  reply  the 
following  characteristic  letter :  — 

Cheyne  Row,  London,  14  March,  1839. 
My  dear  Sir, —  Your  letter  by  the  "  Royal  Will- 
iam "  reached  me  yesterday.  The  Book  it  referred 
to  had  not  then  arrived.  But,  strangely  enough, 
Kennett,  the  dilatory  Kennett,  inspired  by  I  know 
not  what  good  genius,  had  in  those  same  hours  be- 
thought himself  and  set  his  messengers  in  motion; 
and  so,  returning  from  a  friend's  late  last  night,  I 
found  your  Packet  lying  safe  in  waiting  for  me. 
Mrs.  Austin  and  Miss  Martineau  are  both  in  town. 
They  shall  have  their  copies,  if  they  have  not  al- 
ready got  them.  Mrs.  Jameson  is  gone  to  Ger- 
many and  Dresden  some  days  ago,  so  that  hers, 
I  suppose,  must  lie  till  her  return,  which  was  not 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  27 

expected  to  be  very  distant.  Such  a  volume  would 
have  been  a  welcome  thing  to  carry  round  with  her 
to  Weimar.  However,  it  will  doubtless  find  its 
way  thither  by  and  by,  and  be  welcome,  arrive 
when  it  may. 

For  myself  I  thank  you  very  cordially  for  this 
Gift,  for  the  copy  specially  assigned  me,  and  for  the 
kind  Inscription  prefixed  to  all  the  copies.  It  is 
good  news  that  any  one  esteems  us,  better  and 
better  when  our  favorer  is  one  whom  we  ourselves 
can  esteem.  Of  course,  I  have  not  yet  been  able 
to  give  your  volume  such  an  examination  as  I  well 
design  for  it;  but  I  have  looked  here  and  there, 
read  largely  here  and  there,  read  your  notes  nearly 
altogether,  and  know  tolerably  whereabouts  you 
are.  It  seems  to  be  a  volume  creditable  to  New 
England,  to  yourself  and  all  your  coadjutors,  well 
worthy  of  the  creditable  publication  it  forms  part 
of.  With  great  pleasure  I  recognize  in  you  the 
merit,  the  rarest  of  all  in  Goethe's  translators,  yet 
the  first  condition,  without  which  every  other  merit 
is  impossible,  that  of  understanding  your  original. 
You  seem  to  me  to  have  actually  deciphered  for 
yourself,  and  got  to  behold  and  see  the  lineaments 
of  this  great  mind,  so  that  you  know  what  it 
means  and  what  its  words  mean.  I  have  heard 
from  no  English  writer  whatever  as  much  truth  as 
you  write  in  these  notes  about  Goethe.  I  might 
say  nowhere  else  at  all  among  English  writers  any- 
thing but  partiality,  misapprehension,  non-vision, 
gleams  of  insight  bewildered  in  a  mass  of  halluci- 


28  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

nations,  leaving  no  image  for  us  but  at  bottom  that 
of  a  vague  large  blamable  Impossibility.  Interpre- 
tation of  detached  pieces  in  such  circumstances  is 
hopeless.  In  the  contrary  circumstances  there  may 
be  hope  in  it.  I  like  many  of  the  versions  very 
well.  Your  songs  seem  to  me  to  be  the  best,  far 
better  than  one  has  seen  hitherto,  than  one  could 
have  expected  to  see.  The  Epigrammatic  Aphor- 
istic matter,  too,  is  sometimes  wonderfully  success- 
ful. At  other  times  the  quaint  felicity  of  the  ex- 
pression is  lost  (I  know  nothing  in  writing  more 
difficult  to  preserve),  but  the  sense  even  in  these 
cases  is  there.  Schiller  was  much  easier  to  do. 
On  the  whole,  I  must  congratulate  you  on  getting 
through  so  handsomely.  It  was  an  enterprise 
wherein  failure  to  a  very  high  degree  need  not 
have  been  dishonorable.  Among  your  helpers  I 
notice  my  old  acquaintance  Channing,  and  greatly 
approve  of  his  "  Kennst  Du  das  Land  ?  " 

How  the  public  will  receive  your  book  is  perhaps 
very  doubtful,  perhaps  not  very  momentous.  One 
great  acquisition  you  have  infallibly  made,  far  be- 
yond what  any  Public  could  do  for  you, —  the  ac- 
quisition of  a  Teacher  and  Prophet  for  yourself. 
Alone  of  men,  very  far  beyond  all  other  men, 
Goethe  seemed  to  me  to  have  understood  his  cen- 
tury, to  have  conquered  his  century,  and  made  that, 
too,  for  himself  a  portion  of  universal  Time,  a  por- 
tion of  Eternity.  Glory  to  the  strong  man  !  say  I. 
Joy  over  all  the  race  of  men !  Such  a  man  is  as 
a    Prometheus,   who   in   a  time    of    midnight   and 


PREACHING  AND  TRANSLATING  29 

spectres  miraculously  brings  fire  and  light  out  of 
Heaven  itself;  and  his  sacred  urn  is  burning  here 
among  us  still  for  long  generations,  whereat  the 
rest  of  us  can,  according  to  our  need,  kindle  lights. 
What  all  this  means,  I  believe  you  know.  It  is 
now  long  that  I  have  ceased  to  speak  much  about 
such  things ;  but  they  are  not  forgotten  for  all  that. 
There  is  a  time  to  speak  of  them,  there  comes  also 
a  time  to  be  silent  of  them,  and,  if  possible,  do 
better  than  speak. 

Your  scheme  of  activity  pleases  me  well.  Taken 
up  in  singleness  of  heart,  with  modesty,  with  cheer- 
ful courage  to  do  and  to  endure,  it  cannot  but  lead 
you  towards  a  good  goal.  Neither  must  poverty 
depress  you  overmuch.  Poverty  is  no  bad  com- 
panion for  a  young  man.  No  degree  of  poverty 
whatever  can  permanently  hold  down  a  man  in 
wrong  courses.  Nay,  the  best  and  highest  course 
for  a  man,  where  his  duty  and  blessedness  do  lie, 
is  often  enough  one  of  great  and  greatest  poverty. 
Heed  not  poverty.  Speak  to  your  fellow-men  what 
things  you  have  made  out  by  the  grace  of  God. 
A  far  fataller  enemy  than  poverty  is  one  to  which 
not  many  of  us,  but  all  of  us,  are  liable  in  this 
career:  the  thrice  cursed  sin  of  Self-conceit,  bred 
oftener  by  riches  than  by  Poverty !  God  deliver  us 
all  from  that,  send  us  whatever  of  "ill  fortune" 
is  needful  to  deliver  us  from  that! 

I  write  in  great  haste,  but  with  little  prospect  of 
speedy  leisure,  and  therefore  to-day  rather  than 
to-morrow.     Pray  thank  Mr.  Ripley  for  his  valued 


3o  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

book,  which  lay  nearly  a  year  hidden  somewhere, 
but  did  appear  in  fine. 

With  best  wishes  and  thanks, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

T.  Carlyle. 

In  writing  to  Emerson,  under  date  of  April  17, 
1839,  Carlyle  said:  "I  received  Dwight's  book, 
liked  it,  and  have  answered  him :  a  good  youth  of 
the  kind  you  describe.  No  Englishman,  to  my 
knowledge,  has  uttered  as  much  sense  about 
Goethe  and  German  things."  In  March  Emerson 
had  written  to  Carlyle :  "  I  hope  you  liked  John 
Dwight's  translations  of  Goethe  and  notes.  He  is 
a  good,  susceptible,  yearning  soul,  not  so  apt  to 
create  as  to  receive  with  the  freest  allowance ;  but 
I  like  his  book  very  much." 

In  the  letters  of  these  years  there  are  hints  of 
various  activities  and  interests,  hymns  written  for 
the  ordination  of  Theodore  Parker  and  on  other 
occasions,  a  visit  full  of  satisfaction  to  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  at  Newport,  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of 
the  little  company  of  Transcendentalists,  intimate 
friendship  with  Ripley,  a  cordial  correspondence 
with  Brooks,  Parker,  Samuel  Osgood,  Bellows, 
Hedge,  Elizabeth  Peabody,  Mrs.  George  Ripley, 
and  others. 


CHAPTER  III. 
AT   NORTHAMPTON. 

In  1839  there  came  the  promise  of '  a  pulpit  of 
his  own  to  Dwight.  During  that  year  he  preached 
with  acceptance  at  South  Boston,  Dover,  N.H.,  and 
Northampton,  Mass.  In  each  of  these  places  it 
seemed  probable  that  he  might  be  invited  to  settle. 
He  went  to  Northampton  for  a  few  Sundays  in 
July.  He  became  at  once  interested  in  the  society, 
and  he  threw  himself  most  actively  into  the  work 
of  visiting  and  building  up  the  congregation. 
Early  in  the  next  year  he  was  asked  to  preach 
again  at  Northampton.  He  was  invited  to  become 
the  minister  of  the  little  Unitarian  parish,  and  he 
was  ordained  in  May. 

From  the  first  the  people  were  not  wholly  satis- 
fied with  Dwight's  preaching  and  methods  of  work. 
It  was  only  a  little  more  than  fifteen  years  before 
that  the  church  had  separated  from  the  original 
parish  of  the  town,  which  still  strongly  retained  the 
impress  of  the  work  of  Jonathan  Edwards.  Calvin- 
ism was  strongly  intrenched  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley  in  1820,  and  the  worst  features  of  the  revival 
methods  were  still  in  vogue.  Those  who  withdrew 
from  the  Edwards  parish  in  1823  were  Unitarians 
of  the  most  conservative  type,  and  they  were  not 
prepared  for  other  innovations  than  those  they  had 
already  made.  Into  this  town  of  Puritan  traditions 
came  a  young  man  full  of  modern  ideas  and 
methods,  a  Transcendentalist  when  Transcendental- 


32  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

ism  was  condemned  everywhere,  and  one  not  con- 
tented until  he  had  tried  his  own  experiments  and 
put  his  own  devices  into  operation.  There  was 
much  debate,  long  hesitation,  and  a  final  invitation, 
but  with  a  considerable  number  lukewarm  or  op- 
posed. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  Dwight 
was  an  extremist  at  this  time.  His  long  statement 
of  belief  furnished  to  the  parish  would  now  be  re- 
garded as  conservative,  and  would  doubtless  suffice 
to  admit  him  into  not  a  few  evangelical  churches 
of  the  present  day.  It  was  in  what  he  omitted  of 
conventional  words  and  forms  and  in  the  new 
methods  he  introduced  that  the  cause  of  hesitation 
on  the  part  of  the  congregation  was  to  be  found. 
At  last,  however,  all  objections  seemed  removed; 
and  Dwight  accepted  the  call  offered  in  February. 
He  was  to  receive  a  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars. 
He  was  ordained  on  May  20,  the  sermon  being 
preached  by  his  friend  George  Ripley,  and  the 
charge  given  by  Dr.  Channing. 

On  the  Sunday  following  his  ordination  Dwight 
wrote  to  his  sister:  "  In  the  full  blaze  of  morning 
I  woke  in  terror.  More  than  half  the  sermons  still 
remained  before  me.  Then  came  an  intense  day. 
Somehow  mysteriously  I  got  through  it,  as  I  had 
no  right  to  hope.  I  scratched  away  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  got  one  done,  and  went  and  preached  it. 
It  was  on  '  The  Church,'  an  attempt  to  set  forth  the 
true  and  simple  idea  of  a  Christian  community, 
which  should  be  unsectarian,  exclusive  in  nothing, 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  33 

and  based  on  the  common  interests  and  sympa- 
thies of  all  humanity.  The  text  for  the  whole  day 
was  from  1  Corinthians :  '  Though  I  be  free  from 
all  men,  yet  have  I  made  myself  servant  unto  all, 
that  I  might  gain  the  more.'  This  opened  three 
topics:  (1)  the  end  of  the  ministry  to  increase  the 
church, — 'that  I  might  gain  the  more';  (2)  the  min- 
ister as  a  minister  or  servant  of  the  church, — '  I 
made  myself  servant  unto  all';  (3)  the  minister  as 
a  man,  the  independence  of  the  minister, — '  though 
I  be  free  from  all  men.'  I  preached  the  first  head 
in  the  morning,  and  it  gave  great  delight.  I  men- 
tion it  because  it  was  the  most  liberal  view  ever 
presented  of  the  church.  I  hurried  home,  and 
sketched  something  rapidly  for  the  p.m.  on  the 
other  two  heads,  which  I  filled  out  extempore.  It 
was  an  exceeding  trial,  both  for  the  intense  mental 
exercise  in  planning  and  executing  and  on  account 
of  the  mortification  it  cost  me  on  account  of  my 
delinquency.  The  church  was  unusually  full, —  if 
anything,  fuller  than  on  Wednesday.  I  spoke  ear- 
nestly, but  blundered  and  stammered  not  a  little, 
repeated  myself,  and  left  out  most  things,  and  came 
down  from  the  pulpit  in  confusion.  But,  to  my 
great  surprise,  every  one  was  satisfied,  and  many 
enthusiastic.  And  so  I  learned  the  lesson :  a  true 
purpose  is  power,  though  it  have  no  hands. 

"  After  church  I  walked  down  with  Judge  Lyman 
and  Dr.  Channing  to  visit  old  Judge  Hinkley,  who 
is  near  his  end.  I  could  not  help  thinking  again 
how  Providence,  in  all  things,  favors  me ;  that,  on 


34  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

the  first  time  of  my  being  called  to  the  trying  and 
new  situation  of  administering  peace  at  a  death- 
bed, Dr.  Channing,  of  all  men,  should  be  with  me. 
His  talk  and  his  prayer  were  most  touching.  I 
visit  the  old  judge  daily  since,  with  confidence. 
Then  I  ran  half-way  up  Round  Hill,  and  sat  on  the 
grass  an  hour,  drinking  the  beauty  and  the  melody. 
How  this  beauty  revives  one !  I  was  tolerably 
rested  by  it,  and  proceeded  up  to  Edward  Clarke's, 
and  took  tea  with  the  Channings,  the  Lymans,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers,  the  most  beautiful  company 
which  could  be  assembled  on  a  beautiful  evening 
on  a  glorious  hill.  At  sunset  we  all  went  down  to 
Mrs.  Hunt's,  where  we  had  a  conversation  meeting, 
at  Dr.  Channing's  suggestion.  The  house  was 
crowded.  We  talked  over  the  morning's  sermon 
and  the  '  church.'  Dr.  Channing  talked  a  great 
deal,  and  closed  with  a  prayer  which  was  inspira- 
tion. The  effect  of  his  visit  has  been  most  happy 
on  all  the  people.  He  has  been  the  true  friend  and 
godfather  here  to  me.  He  knows  half  my  people, 
is  interested  in  our  church,  and  thinks  he  sees  the 
first  signs  of  true,  life  and  progress.  I  spent  most 
of  Monday  morning  with  him,  and  then  took  leave 
of  him  in  sadness."  A  few  days  later  Dr.  Channing 
sent  him  the  following  letter  about  his  sermon :  — 

My  dear  Sir, —  I  return  "  Bettine  "  by  Miss  Lyman. 
There  was  one  part  of  your  sermon  about  which  I 
did  not  speak  to  you.  You  said  the  minister  was  to 
have  his  friends.     True,  but  he  must  here  practise 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  35 

some  self-denial.  He  must  avoid  all  exclusiveness, 
and  beware  of  giving  real  ground  for  jealousy.  He 
must  wait,  too,  long  enough  to  understand  those 
around  him,  that  he  may  not  rashly  give  a  confi- 
dence which  he  must  afterwards  withdraw.  In  this 
way  the  young  minister  brings  on  himself  silent  but 
real  dislikes.  I  hope  I  am  legible,  for  the  state  of 
my  hand  hardly  allows  me  to  write. 

Yours  truly,  etc., 
Stockbridge,  May  29.  W.  E.  C. 

A  letter  written  to  Dwight  on  the  day  of  his 
ordination,  by  Miss  Elizabeth  P.  Peabody,  gives 
indication  of  one  of  his  limitations  as  a  preacher. 
It  is  such  a  frank  and  generous  letter  as  only  a 
friend  can  write.  "What  I  am  going  to  say,"  she 
writes,  "  respects  some  part  of  your  services.  A 
certain  want  of  fluency  in  prayer  has  been  the  real 
cause  of  your  want  of  outward  success  more  than 
any  other  thing ;  and,  even  in  the  place  where  you 
are,  it  is  felt,  although  overlooked  in  the  estimation 
of  your  many  high  and  beautiful  gifts.  Now  it  has 
always  seemed  to  me  as  if  a  few  hints  from  another 
would  remedy  this  deficiency,  but  I  felt  there  was  a 
difficulty  in  giving  them  while  you  were  yet  a  can- 
didate, because  there  would  be  something  painfully 
embarrassing  to  a  mind  noble  and  delicate  as  yours 
in  the  consciousness  of  praying  with  reference  to 
the  criticisms  of  an  audience.  I  suppose  the  evil 
has  originated  in  your  idea  of  being  spontaneous. 
You  have    thought    there  was   falsehood,  perhaps, 


36  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

in  making  an  exercise  of  this  kind  a  subject  of 
meditation  and  composition.  You  have  heard  so 
much  formal  praying  that  you  have  shrunk  from  it 
as  the  only  evil.  But  in  your  case  it  was  hardly  to 
be  feared :  you  might  premeditate  and  even  write, 
and  still  there  be  no  danger  of  your  losing  sight  of 
God  or  losing  feeling.  Moreover,  I  think  that,  even 
on  your  own  plan,  if  you  would  be  very  short,  and 
as  soon  as  you  feel  yourself  hesitate  should  close, 
you  would  outgrow  it,  especially  as  now  you  will 
find  yourself  much  more  at  ease.  I  remember  Mr. 
E[merson]  said  that  once  you  had  a  theory  about 
preaching  of  the  same  kind,  and  did  not  put  enough 
intellectual  labor  into  the  composition  of  a  sermon. 
But  you  have  got  over  that,  and  hence  I  infer  that 
you  may  change  your  mind  about  prayer.  It  is 
right  for  me  to  say  that,  when  I  heard  you  preach 
last,  I  felt  nothing  but  pleasure  in  the  prayer,  which 
seemed  to  me  full,  free,  and  rich,  and  should  have 
supposed  that  the  difficulty  was  completely  out- 
grown, but  that  I  have  heard  what  is  said  about  it 
at  Northampton  and  elsewhere.  I  certainly  know 
no  one  else  in  such  a  state  of  palpable  growth  as 
yourself,  save  and  excepting  Mr.  E.  I  was  charmed 
and  interested  by  your  first  sermons,  but  felt  your 
improvement  in  practical  talent  to  be  very  great. 
The  last  years  of  your  life,  in  which  you  have  borne 
an  apparent  failure  with  such  courage,  dignity,  and 
beauty,  have  done  for  you,  palpably,  what  no  out- 
ward success  could  have  done.  It  has  turned  you 
visibly  from  a  child  into  a  man  in  bearing;  and,  in 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  37 

hoping  for  you  now  a  continued  prosperity,  I  can 
hope  for  nothing  more  than  that  you  should  adorn 
it  as  you  have  adorned  adversity." 

With  the  aid  of  George  Ripley  the  ordination 
services  were  printed  in  full  in  a  neat  pamphlet,  in 
Boston,  during  the  autumn.  In  the  summer  and 
later  on  there  was  correspondence  with  Charles  T. 
Brooks  about  a  volume  of  German  poems,  which 
Brooks  was  translating,  and  in  the  preparation  of 
which  he  desired,  and  received,  Dwight's  help. 
From  letters  to  his  family  and  friends,  his  doings 
and  thinkings  may  be  briefly  chronicled. 

"  Had  a  fine  day  Sunday  with  old  sermons,"  he 
wrote  September  4.  "  The  people  looked  so  glad 
and  expectant.  After  services  I  rode  out  with  the 
Lorings  to  Mrs.  Child,  and  spent  one  of  the  most 
delightful  evenings  of  my  life."  This  was  Ellis 
Gray  Loring  and  Lydia  Maria  Child.  "  I  have 
lived  in  high  clover  this  week,"  he  wrote  October 
12.  "Two  whole  Sundays  from  Cranch  !  He  has 
completely  won  the  hearts  of  our  people.  I  have 
never  listened  to  four  sermons  all  so  noble  and 
so  inspiring.  I  feel  eclipsed  in  his  success.  He 
ought  to  be  renowned  and  sought  for  in  the 
churches,  but  his  day  is  coming.  Nothing  has 
gratified  me  more  since  I  have  been  here  than  to 
witness  the  warm  response  of  our  people  to  his 
bold  and  stirring  declarations  of  truth.  I  feel  as  if 
the  victory  was  won  in  regard  to  liberty  of  opinion 
here,  and  he  feels  that  it  is  the  freest  and  most 
genial  atmosphere  in  which    he  has  spoken." 


3S  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

A  week  later  he  wrote :  "  I  enjoyed  Cranch's 
visit  prodigiously.  Saturday  I  taught  singing- 
school,  had  conversation  meeting  in  the  evening, 
at  which  I  taxed  my  mind  more  than  usual,  and 
made  the  fullest  statement,  which  I  have  ever  yet 
succeeded  in  getting  out,  of  my  idea  of  Christ  and 
Christianity." 

"  When  I  got  back,"  he  says  November  8,  "  I 
found  a  beautiful  present  from  New  York, —  Beet- 
hoven's opera  *  Fidelio.'  The  same  night  I  found 
a  letter  from  Dr.  Stedman,  written  in  behalf  of 
Ditson,  the  music  publisher,  asking  me  to  make 
a  translation  from  the  German  of  Matthison's 
'Adelaide,'  and  adapt  it  to  Beethoven's  music 
for  publication.  The  letter  contained  a  copy  of 
Beethoven's  letter  of  dedication  to  Matthison. 
These  two  things  came  in  upon  me  together,  just 
as  one  of  my  old  Beethoven  fits  was  growing  upon 
me.  I  have  played  through  ever  so  many  sonatas 
this  week." 

Writing  to  one  of  his  sisters  under  date  of  Jan. 
12,  1 84 1,  Dwight  gives  an  account  of  his  work  in 
detail :  "  Shall  I  give  you  the  order  of  performances 
for  one  week  ?  Sunday  evening,  a  conversation  or 
a  teachers'  meeting;  Monday,  Shakspere;  Tues- 
day, Glee  Club ;  Wednesday,  choir  meeting ;  Thurs- 
day, the  Ladies'  Whist  Club,  alias  'The  Sociable'; 
Saturday,  singing-school  for  children, —  not  to  men- 
tion parties  and  such  like.  Then  there  are  things 
to  be  written,  things  to  be  read.  I  incline  to  books, 
and  would  pass  the  day  with  them   if  it  were  pos- 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  39 

sible.  They  give  me  more  satisfaction  than  men 
just  now.  The  Dial  I  have  nearly  devoured  since 
Sunday.  It  even  clipped  the  borders  of  my  ser- 
mon some,  it  was  so  irresistible  a  dainty.  It  is  a 
splendid  number ;  and  I  cannot  but  thank  the  good 
souls  who  wrote  in  it,  they  have  given  me  so  much 
of  inward  comfort  and  beautiful  thoughts.  You 
shall  have  it  erelong." 

The  conversation  meetings  which  Dwight  men- 
tions several  times  were  not  an  invention  of  his 
own.  He  probably  took  the  idea  of  them  from  Dr. 
Charles  Follen,  who  was  for  several  years  the  min- 
ister of  the  little  church  in  East  Lexington.  It  was 
Dr.  Follen's  idea  that  the  religious  services  of  the 
churches  were  too  stiff  and  formal,  not  sufficiently 
spontaneous,  and  did  not  give  the  people  oppor- 
tunity enough  to  ask  questions  and  to  express  their 
own  opinions.  He  planned  a  church  at  East  Lex- 
ington, with  the  pulpit  near  the  centre,  wherein 
pastor  and  people  could  freely  interchange  ideas. 
His  hope  was  that  a  new  life  would  be  awakened 
by  this  free  spirit  in  the  church,  and  that  there 
would  result  a  deepening  of  the  religious  life.  His 
death  on  the  ill-fated  steamer  "  Lexington,"  as  he 
was  returning  from  New  York  to  the  dedication  of 
the  church,  prevented  his  realizing  his  idea  of  a  free 
church,  in  which  the  service  should  be  the  joint  ex- 
pression of  the  worshipful  spirit  of  both  the  minister 
and  congregation.  His  abilities  as  a  scholar,  his 
free  spirit  as  a  thinker  and  social  reformer,  and  his 
deeply  religious   instinct,   would  have  led   him   to 


40  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

use  wisely  the  fresh  and  earnest  methods  he  pro- 
posed. Dwight  took  from  him  the  idea  of  meetings 
for  conversation  on  religious  subjects,  wherein  all 
should  speak  freely,  and  in  which  it  was  sought  to 
cultivate  the  spirit  of  devotion  in  simple  earnest- 
ness. 

Dwight  read  the  Dial  with  much  interest,  and 
procured  several  subscribers  for  it  in  Northampton 
and  Greenfield.  He  was  a  contributor  to  the  first 
volume,  the  opening  number  publishing  one  of  his 
sermons  under  the  title  of  "  Religion  of  Beauty," 
and  an  article  by  him  on  "  Concerts  of  the  Past 
Winter,"  being  those  of  Boston.  In  the  third  and 
fourth  numbers  appeared  a  sermon  under  the  title 
of  "  Ideals  of  Every-day  Life."  Some  of  his  interest 
in  this  publication  may  be  understood  from  a  por- 
tion of  a  letter  to  him  from  Mrs.  George  Ripley: 
"  We  are  heartily  rejoiced  that  you  like  the  Dial 
well.  George,  Margaret,  and  Theodore  [Ripley, 
Parker,  and  Miss  Fuller]  all  run  it  down  unmerci- 
fully. It  has  not  fire  and  flame  enough  for  them, 
but  the  reflected  approbation  of  the  public  makes 
them  seem  more  truly  to  appreciate  it  now.  It  is 
thought  by  many  —  myself  among  the  number  —  a 
very  charming  book.  Miss  Peabody  says:  'It  is 
domestic,  giving  the  every-day  state  of  feeling  and 
thought  of  the  writers.  There  is  no  effort  about  it, 
and  much  strength  behind.'  The  next  number  will 
be  great.  We  cannot  answer  your  inquiries  with 
regard  to  the  poetry  in  the  Dial,  especially  that 
'sweet,  sad  melody '  you  speak  of.     Margaret  sup- 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  41 

plies  the  poetical  department  from  the  confidential 
deposits  of  private  friendship  in  her  portfolio ;  and 
we  agree  not  to  know  the  names  of  the  pieces  we 
most  admire,  that  we  may  always  have  an  answer 
for  those  who  ask  us." 

"  You  have  seen  the  Dial,  of  course,"  wrote  Rip- 
ley in  July.  "  I  hope  you  like  it  better  than  I  do. 
It  is  quite  unworthy,  I  think,  of  its  pretensions; 
and  unless  the  everlasting  hills,  to  which  we  have 
looked  for  help,  give  us  something  more  than  this, 
they  had  better  cease  to  be  parturient.  Pray  send 
us  the  remainder  of  that  homily  on  '  The  Church  at 
Work,'  etc.,  or  whatever  you  may  have  stronger  and 
better.  I  like  your  *  Rest '  still  more  in  print  than 
I  did  in  MS.  It  is  an  exquisite  expression  of  a 
noble  and  true  thought.  Your  article  on  '  Con- 
certs '  is  an  atoning  offering  for  the  many  sins  of 
the  Dial.  I  do  not  fancy  the  '  Religion  of  Beauty  ' 
so  much  as  I  expected  to  do.  It  is  unfinished. 
Almost  every  sentence  promises  something  better 
than  we  get,  and  the  sum  total  is  a  feeling  of  disap- 
pointment. Do  give  us  some  truly  artistic  product, 
be  it  ever  so  small.  Your  beautiful  improvisations 
are  a  sin  against  your  own  soul ;  and,  unless  you 
repent  and  mend  your  ways,  you  will  be  damned 
when  the  day  of  judgment  comes." 

"  How  glad  I  am  that  you  like  the  Dial  so  well !  " 
wrote  Ripley  a  month  later,  "  and  that  the  saints  in 
Northampton  and  Deerfield  also  have  an  eye  for  its 
merits.  The  best  judges,  though,  I  think,  generally 
are    disappointed.     It    was    not  pronouce    enough. 


42  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

They  expected  hoofs  and  horns,  while  it  proved  as 
gentle  as  any  sucking  dove.  The  next  number,  I 
trust,  will  make  amends.  Still,  this  has  produced 
a  decided  sensation.  I  feared  it  would  fall  dead; 
but  there  is  no  dread  of  that  now.  People  seem 
to  look  on  with  wonder ;  while  the  Philistines,  who 
dare  show  out,  are  wrathy  as  fighting-cocks.  Pray 
send  on  your  articles  without  delay;  and,  if  you 
have  any  more  such  dainty  verses  as  the  last,  let 
them  come,  too." 

At  the  end  of  Dwight's  first  contribution  to  the 
Dial  appeared  a  poem  bearing  the  title  "  Rest,"  to 
which  Ripley  refers  with  words  of  praise.  Although 
immediately  following  the  article  on  the  "  Religion 
of  Beauty,"  it  does  not  form  an  integral  part  of  it. 
This  poem  has  been  frequently  reprinted,  and  for 
many  years  it  was  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  trans- 
lation from  the  German  of  Goethe.  It  was  written 
by  Dwight  himself,  and  it  is  the  one  poem  of  his 
that  has  become  popular  and  secured  the  honor  of 
familiar  quotation.  It  will  be  given  here  in  full  as 
the  Dial  first  printed  it :  — 

REST. 

Sweet  is  the  pleasure 

Itself  cannot  spoil ! 
Is  not  true  leisure 

One  with  true  toil  ? 

Thou  that  wouldst  taste  it, 

Still  do  thy  best ; 
Use  it,  not  waste  it, 

Else  'tis  no  rest. 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  43 

Wouldst  behold  beauty 

Near  thee,  all  round  ? 
Only  hath  duty, 

Such  a  sight  found. 

Rest  is  not  quitting 

The  busy  career  : 
Rest  is  the  fitting 

Of  self  to  its  sphere. 

'Tis  the  brook's  motion, 

Clear  without  strife, 
Fleeing  to  ocean 

After  its  life. 

Deeper  devotion 

Nowhere  hath  knelt; 
Fuller  emotion 

Heart  never  felt. 

'Tis  loving  and  serving 

The  Highest  and  Best ! 
'Tis  onwards  !  unswerving, 

And  that  is  true  rest. 

Dwight  had  other  literary  tasks  in  hand  than  that 
of  contributing  to  the  Dial.  He  writes  to  Brooks 
of  a  "great  parcel  of  songs  for  Lowell  Mason, 
most  of  which  were  more  imitations  than  transla- 
tions." "  I  am  under  engagement  to  Ripley,"  he 
wrote  Aug.  14,  1840,  "to  make  a  volume  of  Herder 
about  that  terrible  Spinoza,  etc.,  this  autumn.  I 
have  postponed  it  all  summer,  and  have  but  just 
got  a  chance  to  begin."  In  April  the  next  year  he 
wrote,  "  I  have  promised  Ripley  to  make  a  volume 
or  two  from   Goethe's   prose,   which    ought  to   be 


44  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

half-done  by  this  time,  but  is  scarcely  begun." 
Neither  of  these  tasks  was  completed,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  they  were  ever  really  undertaken. 

When  the  anniversary  of  his  ordination  came 
round,  Dwight  took  occasion  to  review  his  year's 
work,  to  point  out  in  what  ways  it  had  not  satisfied 
him,  and  to  indicate  how  it  might  be  improved. 
He  spoke  freely  of  some  criticisms  made  upon  his 
preaching  which  had  come  to  him ;  and  he  said 
that  the  objections  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
people  were  worldly,  and  therefore  not  desirous  of 
having  the  truth  freely  spoken.  These  sermons 
revived  the  discontent,  and  gave  occasion  for  its 
breaking  out  in  a  serious  manner.  He  attempted 
to  heal  the  breach,  sought  to  explain  his  words,  to 
reconcile  the  malcontents,  and  to  restore  harmony. 
Ten  days  after  the  outburst  he  wrote :  "  I  have 
never  felt  in  better  spirits  than  since  the  painful 
effort  of  yesterday.  In  the  first  place,  I  feel  that 
I  have  done  my  duty.  In  the  next  place,  it  has 
shown  me  who  are  my  friends,  and  what  warm  and 
true  friends  they  are." 

"  From  all  that  I  have  discovered,"  he  wrote 
June  22,  "of  the  character  of  the  individuals  of 
whom  my  society  is  composed,  I  feel  more  and 
more  convinced  that  the  relation  between  us  never 
could  have  been  lasting,  that  I  never  entirely  un- 
derstood the  heterogeneous  compound,  that,  had  I 
done  twice  as  much  as  I  have,  had  I  neglected  no 
means  or  precaution  which  occurred  to  me,  it  could 
not  have  altered  the  case.     The  truth  is,  the  true 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  45 

state  of  things  was  from  the  first  concealed  from 
me.  The  enthusiasm  of  that  ordination  time  de- 
ceived us.  There  were  many  who  came  reluctantly 
into  the  measure  of  my  settlement.  But  all  went 
on  so  quietly  that  I  had  reason  to  suppose  that 
everybody  was  interested  as  much  as  could  be  ex- 
pected. As  it  is,  I  know  that  a  great  many  have 
been  and  still  are  deeply  interested  in  my  services, 
and  are  grieved  exceedingly  that  a  separation 
should  take  place.  Very  nearly  all  the  women, 
and  a  majority  of  the  men,  I  count  upon  confi- 
dently. But  the  favor  with  which  I  am  looked 
upon  by  the  female  portion  seems  to  be  one  chief 
offence.  It  is  strange  that  my  friends  and  my 
opposers  know  so  little  of  each  other."  A  few 
days  later  he  wrote  :  "  I  am  free  !  I  heard  nothing 
of  the  doings  of  the  parish  meeting  till  three  days 
after.  It  was  very  thinly  attended,  and  most  of  my 
friends  were  absent." 

Dwight  spent  the  summer  and  autumn  in  North- 
ampton, enjoying  the  beauties  of  nature  and  devot- 
ing himself  to  literary  labors.  He  preached  a  few 
times  in  neighboring  towns,  and  he  spent  much 
time  in  wandering  over  the  hills.  His  letters  show 
an  exquisite  appreciation  of  all  the  quieter  phases 
of  nature  around  him.  He  was  planning  and  pre- 
paring for  the  future.  August  20  he  gave  a  lect- 
ure before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction 
on  "  Simplicity  of  Character  as  affected  by  the 
Common  Systems  of  Education."  Before  the  Har- 
vard Musical  Association,  August  25,  he  gave  an 


46  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

address  on  music,  which  was  published  in  Hack's 
Musical  Magazine  for  September. 

"  The  days  are  quite  filled  up,"  he  writes  Sep- 
tember 24 ;  "  yet  I  have  done  little  but  study  and 
read  and  muse  with  reference  to  the  coming 
lectures.  I  have  just  got  through  two  long  jobs, — 
the  writing  off  and  correcting  my  two  addresses  for 
the  press,  which  I  have  sent  to  Boston.  The 
musical  address  will  appear  soon  in  Hack's  Maga- 
zine, and  a  few  copies  will  be  done  up  separately  in 
pamphlet  form.  I  have  nearly  doubled  the  length 
of  it  in  writing  it  over,  and  I  feel  now  that  it  is 
the  happiest  statement  of  my  feelings  about  music 
which  I  have  yet  written.  As  I  delivered  it,  it 
seemed  loose  and  badly  hung  together,  though  it 
had  a  unity  in  my  mind.  I  have  now  put  a  back- 
bone into  it,  which  holds  all  the  parts  firmly  and 
systematically  together." 

The  lectures  referred  to  were  on  music,  and  they 
were  prepared  before  his  return  to  Boston  in  No- 
vember. Early  in  the  summer  he  wrote  his  friends 
in  behalf  of  a  course  of  popular  lectures  on  music, 
and  he  soon  had  a  number  of  engagements  for 
their  delivery.  The  winter  was  devoted  in  part  to 
this  work  and  to  other  literary  employments. 

After  leaving  Northampton,  Dwight  preached 
half  a  dozen  times,  and  then  quietly  dropped  out  of 
a  profession  which  he  felt  was  no  longer  congenial. 
In  reply  to  an  invitation  from  Dr.  Flint,  of  Salem, 
to  fill  his  pulpit  for  a  few  Sundays,  Dwight  wrote 
from   Brook   Farm,  under  date  of  June    18,    1842: 


AT    NORTHAMPTON  47 

"  The  truth  is,  my  mind  has  been  for  some  time 
past  verging  more  and  more  away  from  the  clerical 
profession.  Already  I  had  resolved  never  again  to 
be  settled  (even  if  I  could  be,  which  is  doubtful); 
and  now,  just  as  I  received  your  request,  I  was  seri- 
ously deliberating  the  question  whether  to  preach 
again  at  all.  I  have  doubts  about  the  Church.  I 
agree  with  Parker  mainly  as  to  the  essence  of 
Christianity.  I  disincline  more  and  more  to  the 
forms,  especially  public  prayer.  I  have  less  sympa- 
thy than  I  had  with  the  prevailing  spirit  of  the 
churches,  and  less  hope  of  ever  being  able  to  mould 
the  Church  and  the  profession  to  my  idea,  so  that  I 
could  be  true  to  my  conviction  while  continuing  in 
them ;  and,  in  this  state  of  mind,  while  I  cannot  go 
heartily  and  with  my  whole  soul  into  a  pulpit,  I 
feel  that  it  would  be  false  to  do  it  at  all,  either  from 
old  habit  or  for  the  sake  of  the  livelihood,  or  re- 
spectable connection  which  I  might  derive  from  it. 
For  the  present,  therefore,  I  decline  all  invitations 
to  preach,  not  pledging  myself  with  regard  to  the 
future,  but  yet  seeing  little  prospect  of  my  being 
reconciled  to  the  profession  or  the  profession  to 
me. 

"  What  pangs  this  costs  me,  what  breaking  of  old 
hopes  fondly  cherished,  and  what  plunging  upon  a 
new  sea  of  uncertainties,  I  have  not  time  or  spirit 
to  detail  to  you.  But  I  know  you  will  approve  my 
course  of  action,  such  being  my  state  of  mind,  and 
will  give  me  credit  for  all  willingness  and  desire  to 
help  you,  were  it  only  consistent  with  my  sense  of 
duty." 


CHAPTER  IV. 
BROOK    FARM. 

It  was  a  time  of  intense  intellectual  ferment 
when  Dwight  began  the  work  of  his  life.  The 
Transcendental  movement  was  just  getting  under 
way,  and  he  entered  into  the  spirit  of  it  with  great 
enthusiasm.  The  stir  of  social  discontent  he  fully 
shared  with  many  of  his  friends.  The  eager  wish 
for  a  pure  and  rational  religion  was  his  in  a  large 
degree.  In  these  and  other  directions  he  was  a 
child  of  his  time  in  the  truest  sense,  sharing  its 
hopes,  joining  in  its  aspirations,  and  ready  to  labor 
for  the  realization  of  its  ideals. 

When  the  Transcendental  Club  was  started  in 
Boston,  he  was  a  member  from  the  first.  He  was 
intimately  connected  with  all  the  men  who  be- 
longed to  it,  and  had  known  them  as  friends  for 
some  years.  They  felt  him  to  be  one  of  them- 
selves, a  sharer  in  their  convictions  and  one  worthy 
of  their  confidence.  They  saw  in  him  fine  traits 
of  character,  capacity  for  noble  achievements,  and 
somewhat  of  the  high  gift  of  genius.  If  they  saw 
any  limitation  in  his  character,  it  was  that  he  was 
not  sufficiently  self-seeking  to  push  his  way  to  the 
highest  successes,  and  that  he  lacked  the  assertive 
will  which  is  the  promise  of  great  achievements. 
He  won  their  affection,  however,  and  secured  their 
loyal  friendship.  He  fully  shared  in  their  intel- 
lectual hopes,  and  he  was  not  behind  any  of  them 
in  that  loyalty  to  conviction  which  counts  not  the 
cost  for  the  sake  of  truth. 


BROOK    FARM  49 

These  qualities  of  his  character  were  well  brought 
out  by  his  connection  with  Brook  Farm.  His  inti- 
macy with  George  Ripley  and  his  wife,  which  had 
been  of  several  years'  duration,  undoubtedly  had 
something  to  do  with  his  interest  in  that  experi- 
ment. It  was  not  this  alone,  however,  which  led 
him  to  join  his  friends  in  this  effort  at  practical  re- 
form. Far  more  than  Ripley  himself,  he  was  by 
nature  destined  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  such  an  effort 
to  regenerate  society.  A  born  idealist,  by  temper- 
ament an  enthusiast,  and  by  conviction  a  come- 
outer  from  the  conventionalities  of  society  and  re- 
ligion, he  was  one  who  could  see  the  promise  of 
such  a  movement,  and  forsake  all  things  cheerfully 
for  its  sake.  It  was  not  a  young  man's  day-dream 
which  led  Dwight  to  Brook  Farm.  He  never  out- 
grew the  convictions  of  that  early  time.  To  the 
day  of  his  death  he  held  firmly  to  the  motives  and 
aspirations  which  made  him  a  member  of  the  Brook 
Farm  community. 

Dwight  was  not  one  to  drop  into  the  common 
ways  of  the  world  and  be  content  therewith.  Wher- 
ever born  or  reared,  he  would  have  looked  at  the 
world  with  his  own  eyes,  and  been  unwilling  to  ac- 
cept the  traditional  methods  of  explaining  it.  Re- 
fined and  gentle  in  all  the  habits  of  his  mind,  an 
intense  lover  of  the  beautiful,  and  aesthetic  in  his 
tastes  and  preferences,  he  seemed  not  to  have  in 
him  any  of  the  stuff  of  a  reformer.  He  certainly  was 
not  an  iconoclast  or  one  in  any  way  inclined  to  the 
destruction  of  what  is  old  and  venerable.     It  was 


50  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

his  love  of  beauty,  his  instinctive  yearning  for  what 
is  pure  and  noble,  and  his  keen  desire  for  moral 
justice  which  led  him  to  join  with  those  who  de- 
sired a  better  form  of  society.  It  was 'his  wish 
to  show  how  a  finer  and  purer  life  could  be  lived 
when  men  turned  away  from  greed  and  gave  them- 
selves to  what  is  right  and  just. 

One  of  the  most  characteristic  enthusiasms  of 
the  time  found  its  best  expression  at  Brook  Farm. 
It  was  not  mere  enthusiasm,  however,  which  led  to 
that  experiment,  but  a  careful  and  serious  study  of 
the  needs  of  humanity.  George  Ripley  was  a  man 
of  sound  intellect,  tempered  moral  purpose,  and 
wise  insight  into  human  needs.  He  calmly  rea- 
soned out  a  method  for  saving  society,  and  his  the- 
ories were  shared  by  some  of  the  most  judicious 
men  and  women  of  his  day.  He  went  to  Brook 
Farm  in  March  or  April,  1841,  with  deliberate  pur- 
pose and  high  hopes.  His  wife  and  a  few  friends 
went  with  him  to  try  the  experiment  of  an  indus- 
trial and  social  life  which  should  be  guided  by  ra- 
tional aims,  and  in  which  all  should  jointly  share 
in  securing  the  good  of  all.  The  Articles  of  As- 
sociation of  this  community  were  drawn  up  on 
September  29,  and  officers  were  elected.  On  the 
first  of  November  the  Brook  Farm  Institute  of 
Agriculture  and  Education  was  organized,  and  to 
it  were  transferred  the  farm  and  other  property 
which  Mr.  Ripley  had  purchased. 

The  objects  had  in  view  in  the  establishment  of 
Brook  Farm  may  be  best  stated   in  the  words  of 


BROOK    FARM  51 

George  Ripley,  its  founder  and  leader.  "  Our  ob- 
jects," he  wrote,  "are  to  insure  a  more  natural  union 
between  intellectual  and  manual  labor  than  now 
exists;  to  combine  the  thinker  and  the  worker,  as 
far  as  possible,  in  the  same  individual ;  to  guarantee 
the  highest  mental  freedom  by  providing  all  with 
labor  adapted  to  their  tastes  and  talents,  and  secur- 
ing to  them  the  fruits  of  their  industry ;  to  do  away 
with  the  necessity  of  menial  services  by  opening  the 
benefits  of  education  and  the  profits  of  labor  to  all ; 
and  thus  to  prepare  a  society  of  liberal,  intelligent, 
and  cultivated  persons,  whose  relations  with  each 
other  would  permit  a  more  simple  and  wholesome 
life  than  can  be  led  amid  the  pressure  of  our  com- 
petitive institutions."  The  articles  of  agreement, 
drawn  up  in  Boston  during  the  winter  of  1840-41, 
somewhat  more  explicitly  set  forth  the  purposes 
had  in  view :  "  To  substitute  a  system  of  brotherly 
co-operation  for  one  of  selfish  competition ;  to 
secure  to  our  children,  and  to  those  who  may  be 
intrusted  to  our  care,  the  benefits  of  the  highest 
physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  education  which,  in 
the  present  state  of  human  knowledge,  the  resources 
at  our  command  will  permit ;  to  institute  an  at- 
tractive, efficient,  and  productive  system  of  in- 
dustry; to  prevent  the  exercise  of  worldly  anxiety 
by  the  competent  supply  of  our  necessary  wants; 
to  diminish  the  desire  of  excessive  accumula- 
tion by  making  the  acquisition  of  individual  prop- 
erty subservient  to  upright  and  disinterested  uses; 
to  guarantee  to  each  other  the  means  of  physical 


52  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

support  and  of  spiritual  progress;  and  thus  to 
impart  a  greater  freedom,  simplicity,  truthfulness, 
refinement,  and  moral  dignity  to  our  mode  of  life." 
When  Ripley  went  to  the  farm  in  West  Roxbury, 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Sophia  Willard 
Ripley,  a  woman  of  ability  and  learning,  self-deny- 
ing, and  a  capable  leader,  fit  to  adorn  any  society, 
and  yet  accepting  the  most  menial  tasks  in  behalf 
of  her  faith  in  the  ideal;  and  his  sister,  Marianne 
Ripley,  a  teacher  of  experience  and  skill,  devoted  to 
her  brother's  interests,  but  somewhat  Puritanic 
and  inflexible  in  character.  Soon  after  they  were 
joined  by  George  P.  Bradford,  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College,  a  gentle  and  refined  soul,  a  lover  of 
good  literature,  an  able  teacher,  to  which  profes- 
sion his  life  was  devoted;  Warren  Burton,  a  grad- 
uate of  Harvard  and  a  Unitarian  preacher,  a  writer 
of  two  or  three  delightful  books  on  educational 
subjects,  especially  one  on  the  district  school  as 
it  was ;  and  Minot  Pratt,  a  printer  and  student, 
a  lover  of  flowers,  and  a  writer  on  agricultural 
themes,  a  gentle  and  lovable  man,  with  his  wife 
and  children.  On  the  12th  of  April  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne  joined  the  little  community,  and  a  few 
weeks  later  he  set  down  in  his  journal  an  enthusi- 
astic account  of  the  life  at  the  farm.  William  B. 
Allen  became  the  farmer  of  the  association.  In 
the  autumn  Charles  A.  Dana,  who  had  been  a  stu- 
dent at  Harvard,  joined  his  interests  with  the  others; 
and  in  November  John  S.  Dwight  became  a  mem- 
ber.    When  the  association  was   organized,  in  the 


BROOK    FARM  53 

autumn  of  1841,  Ripley  was  assigned  the  position 
of  chairman  and  leader,  Dana  was  made  the  secre- 
tary, and  Mrs.  Ripley  took  charge  of  the  educa- 
tional interests. 

The  word  "  association  "  was  used  by  the  resi- 
dents at  Brook  Farm  to  describe  their  life,  private 
property  was  permitted  and  encouraged,  all  paid  for 
board  and  lodging,  and  all  received  wages  for  the 
work  they  performed.  It  was  a  definite  attempt  to 
bring  out  and  develop  individual  talent  and  char- 
acter, and  every  effort  was  made  to  prevent  same- 
ness of  thought  and  expression.  At  first  there  was 
an  inclination  to  an  excess  of  individual  action,  and 
to  what  Margaret  Fuller  called  "  grotesque  freaks 
of  liberty."  This  tendency  grew  less  insistent  in 
time ;  but  the  right  to  individual  belief  was  ac- 
knowledged to  the  fullest  extent,  and  it  was  duly 
respected.  Without  doubt  this  freedom  of  action 
was  one  source  of  weakness  in  the  association ;  for 
it  hindered  united  effort,  and  the  needed  discipline 
was  not  secured. 

For  the  first  three  or  four  years  the  association 
devoted  itself  mainly  to  agriculture  and  education. 
The  farm  was  not  a  good  one,  but  a  considerable 
effort  was  made  to  add  to  its  productiveness.  An 
experienced  farmer  was  secured  to  direct  the  farm 
operations,  and  all  the  men  were  expected  to  de- 
vote a  part  of  each  day  to  the  farm-work.  A  re- 
turn to  nature  was  much  preached  at  that  time,  and 
it  was  thought  by  many  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  was  the  only  natural  form    of   labor.     It   was 


54  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

maintained  that  no  one  could  be  sound  in  body  and 
mind  who  did  not  cultivate  the  earth.  "  So,  in 
order  to  reform  society,  in  order  to  regenerate  the 
world,  and  to  realize  democracy  in  the  social  rela- 
tions," as  Mr.  Dana  stated  the  objects  had  in  view 
by  the  founders  of  Brook  Farm,  "  they  determined 
that  their  society  should  first  pursue  agriculture, 
which  would  give  every  man  plenty  of  outdoor 
labor  in  the  free  air,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
opportunity  of  study,  of  instruction,  of  becoming 
familiar  with  everything  in  literature  and  in  learn- 
ing." 

From  the  first  the  educational  object  was  made 
more  prominent  at  Brook  Farm  than  agricult- 
ure itself.  In  describing  the  association,  George 
Ripley  wrote,  "  We  are  a  company  of  teachers." 
And  again  he  said,  "  The  branch  of  industry  which 
we  pursue,  as  our  primary  object  and  chief  means 
of  support,  is  teaching."  The  educational  forces  of 
the  association  were  carefully  organized.  There 
was  an  admirable  primary  school,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  preparatory  for  college,  and  another 
which  devoted  three  years  to  a  practical  training  in 
agriculture  and  horticulture.  George  Ripley  taught 
philosophy  and  mathematics ;  George  P.  Bradford, 
literature ;  John  S.  Dwight,  music  and  Latin ; 
Charles  A.  Dana,  Greek  and  German;  John  S. 
Brown,  agriculture ;  Sophia  W.  Ripley,  history  and 
modern  languages.  In  the  primary  school  the 
teachers  were  Marianne  Ripley,  Abby  Morton 
(afterward    Mrs.     Diaz),    Georgiana    Bruce    (after- 


BROOK    FARM  55 

ward  Mrs.  Kirby),  and  Hannah  B.  Ripley.  In  this 
department  many  others  took  part  as  time  went  on, 
and  among  them  Dwight's  sisters.  Among  the 
students  were  a  considerable  number  who  became 
known  to  the  world  for  their  intellectual  ability  or 
their  interest  in  practical  reforms.  Much  attention 
was  also  given  to  the  intellectual  interests  of  the 
adult  members  of  the  association.  Clubs  were 
organized,  lectures  were  given,  and  books  were 
freely  loaned  from  his  library  by  Mr.  Ripley.  In 
fact,  an  intellectual  atmosphere  surrounded  the 
whole  community.  All  were  at  school  who 
belonged  to  it,  for  many  gatherings  were  held 
that  provided  instruction  and  intellectual  stimulus 
to  all  the  members.  In  the  mingling  of  old  and 
young  in  the  process  of  education  the  association 
was  unique  in  its  methods,  few  restraints  being  put 
upon  the  young,  while  the  old  were  constantly  in- 
vited to  keep  fully  alive  their  intellectual  interests. 
The  life  at  Brook  Farm  was  very  simple,  and  it 
was  marked  by  a  spirit  of  co-operation  and  sym- 
pathy. There  was  a  common  table,  and  all  the 
members  joined  together  in  providing  social  enter- 
tainment. The  life  was  a  very  happy  one.  The 
work  of  the  field  or  kitchen  was  relieved  by  con- 
versation, song,  or  jest ;  and  the  men  did  not  fail 
to  assist  in  the  severer  labors  of  the  women.  Every 
kindly  office  of  helpfulness  the  members  freely  be- 
stowed upon  each  other,  if  it  was  seen  to  be  needed; 
and  the  young  found  endless  amusement  in  games 
of  every  kind. 


56  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

On  the  farm,  when  it  was  bought,  was  a  large 
house  ;  and  this  was  named  "  The  Hive."  It  was 
added  to,  and  provided  kitchen,  dining-room,  parlor, 
and  office,  as  well  as  many  sleeping-rooms.  Across 
the  road  was  a  much  smaller  farm-house  that  was 
rented  for  some  months  for  school  purposes,  and 
was  christened  "  The  Nest."  In  time  there  was 
built  on  the  highest  point  of  land  a  large  house 
that  therefore  took  the  name  of  "  The  Eyrie,"  which 
was  occupied  by  the  Ripleys,  and  used  for  school 
purposes,  as  well  as  the  keeping  of  Mr.  Ripley's 
library.  Here,  also,  were  the  pianos,  with  the  aid 
of  which  Dwight  carried  on  musical  instruction.  A 
cottage  was  also  built,  that  has  been  frequently 
named  after  Margaret  Fuller,  but  was  not  built  or 
occupied  by  her.  The  Pilgrim,  or  Morton,  house 
was  built  by  two  brothers  from  Plymouth  for  their 
families,  but  soon  came  into  the  control  of  the 
association.  Then  was  undertaken  the  great 
Phalanstery  that  was  burned  before  completion. 
Barns,  a  large  workshop,  and  greenhouses  were 
also  added  to  the  buildings  on  the  farm. 

On  leaving  Northampton  in  the  autumn  of  1841, 
Dwight  became  a  member  of  the  community  at 
Brook  Farm.  In  a  few  remarks  made  by  him,  at 
the  close  of  an  address  on  Brook  Farm  by  Rev. 
O.  B.  Frothingham,  he  gave  an  account  of  his  life 
there.  They  explain  his  purpose  in  joining  the 
association,  and  his  mature  judgment  as  to  the 
outcome  of  the  experiment. 

"It  was   my  privilege,"  he  said,   "  to  know   Mr. 


BROOK  FARM  57 

Ripley  very  intimately  for  a  number  of  years  before 
he  conceived  that  experiment.  When  I  came  out 
of  the  Divinity  School  at  Cambridge,  he  was  my 
first  warm,  helpful,  encouraging  friend.  I  was  at 
his  house  almost  daily  during  that  famous  contro- 
versy with  Andrews  Norton.  I  knew  the  whole  of 
it  as  it  went  on.  I  talked  with  Mr.  Ripley,  and 
heard  him  read  his  manuscript. 

"After  I  lived  in  Northampton,  I  was  very  much 
attracted  to  his  idea  which  resulted  in  Brook  Farm. 
His  aspiration  was  to  bring  about  a  truer  state  of 
society,  one  in  which  human  beings  should  stand 
in  frank  relations  of  true  equality  and  fraternity, 
mutually  helpful,  respecting  each  other's  occupa- 
tion, and  making  one  the  helper  of  the  other.  The 
prime  idea  was  an  organization  of  industry  in  such 
a  way  that  the  most  refined  and  educated  should 
show  themselves  practically  on  a  level  with  those 
whose  whole  education  had  been  hard  labor.  There- 
fore, the  scholars  and  the  cultivated  would  take 
their  part  also  in  the  manual  labor,  working  on  the 
farm  or  cultivating  nurseries  of  young  trees,  or 
they  would  even  engage  in  the  housework. 

"I  remember  the  night  of  my  first  arrival  at 
Brook  Farm.  It  had  been  going  on  all  the  sum- 
mer. I  arrived  in  November.  At  that  time  it  was 
a  sort  of  pastoral  life,  rather  romantic,  although  so 
much  hard  labor  was  involved  in  it.  They  were  all 
at  tea  in  the  old  building,  which  was  called  the 
Hive.  In  a  long  room  at  a  long  table  they  were 
taking  tea,  and  I  sat  down  with  them.     When  tea 


58  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

was  over,  they  were  all  very  merry,  full  of  life ;  and 
all  turned  to  and  washed  the  dishes,  cups,  and 
saucers.  All  joined  in, —  the  Curtis  brothers,  Dana, 
and  all.  It  was  very  enchanting ;  quite  a  lark,  as 
we  say.  Much  of  the  industry  went  on  in  that  way, 
because  it  combined  the  freest  sociability  with  the 
useful  arts. 

11  The  idea  of  most  of  us  was  that,  beginning  with 
what  we  felt  to  be  a  true  system,  with  true  relations 
to  one  another,  it  would  probably  grow  into  some- 
thing larger,  and  that  by  bringing  in  others  we 
should  finally  succeed  in  reforming  and  elevating 
society  and  put  it  on  a  basis  of  universal  co-opera- 
tion. Communism  it  was  not,  because  property  was 
respected.  Some  were  allowed  to  hold  and  earn 
more  than  others.  Only  justice  was  sought  for  in 
the  matter  of  labor  and  in  the  distribution  of  any 
surplus,  if  there  were  any,  which  seldom  occurred. 
Capital,  labor,  and  skill  each  had  their  fair  propor- 
tion in  the  division;  and  the  same  person  might 
share  under  each  of  these  heads.  It  gave  labor  the 
largest  share,  five-twelfths;  capital,  four-twelfths; 
and  skill,  three-twelfths.  By  skill  is  meant  the  or- 
ganizing head  to  industry.  That  was  the  whole  of 
our  equality. 

"  The  great  point  aimed  at  was  to  realize  prac- 
tical equality  and  mutual  culture,  and  a  common- 
sense  education  for  the  children  in  a  larger  sense 
than  prevails  in  ordinary  society.  The  educational 
phase  consisted  partly  in  our  education  of  one  an- 
other and  partly  in  the  school,  which  was  also  one 


BROOK  FARM  59 

of  the  means  of  support  of  the  community.  Pupils 
were  taken  from  outside,  who  lived  there,  and  were 
taught  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ripley  and  others.  There 
were  some  young  people  who  came  and  lived  there 
simply  as  boarders,  from  a  certain  romantic  interest 
in  the  ideas,  but  not  committing  themselves  to  them 
by  membership. 

"  The  social  education  was  extremely  pleasant. 
For  instance,  in  the  matter  of  music,  we  had  ex- 
tremely limited  means  or  talent;  and  very  little 
could  be  done  except  in  a  very  rudimentary,  tenta- 
tive, and  experimental  way.  We  had  a  singing 
class,  and  we  had  some  who  could  sing  a  song 
gracefully  and  accompany  themselves  at  the  piano. 
We  had  some  piano  music ;  and,  so  far  as  it  was 
possible,  care  was  taken  that  it  should  be  good, — 
sonatas  of  Beethoven  and  Mozart,  and  music  of 
that  order.  We  sang  masses  of  Haydn  and  others, 
and  no  doubt  music  of  a  better  quality  than  pre- 
vailed in  most  society  at  that  date ;  but  that  would 
be  counted  nothing  now.  Occasionally  we  had 
artists  come  to  visit  us.  We  had  delightful  read- 
ings ;  and  once  in  a  while,  when  William  Henry 
Channing  was  in  the  neighborhood,  he  would 
preach  us  a  sermon. 

"  Hawthorne  was  there  then,  but  he  left  at  about 
that  time.  He  knew  very  little  about  it  as  an  organ- 
ized industrial  experiment.  But  he  was  pleased  to 
live  on  a  farm,  and  he  liked  to  drive  oxen ;  and  he 
would  drive  until  he  got  himself  tired  through  the 
day,  and  shut  himself  up  in  his  room  in  the  even- 


60  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

ing.  So  it  was  wholly  a  mistake  that  the  '  Blithe- 
dale  Romance '  describes  Brook  Farm.  There  is 
nothing  of  Brook  Farm  in  it  except  the  scenery. 
None  of  the  characters  represent  people  at  Brook 
Farm.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  heroine  was 
Margaret  Fuller,  but  she  was  never  a  member. 
She  was  only  an  occasional  visitor,  a  friend  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ripley.     She  made  us  delightful  visits. 

"  We  were  never  more  than  a  hundred,  often  not 
that;  and  we  had  very  little  means  and  a  poor 
farm,  nearly  two  hundred  acres,  mostly  grass  and 
woods,  and  found  it  hard  to  get  people  enough  of 
the  right  kind  to  do  what  work  was  required. 
Everybody  went  into  the  work  heartily,  and  every- 
body tried  to  help  every  other.  There  was  a  great 
sweetness  and  charm  in  the  sincerity  of  the  life. 

"  I  do  not  think  Brook  Farm  was  wholly  a 
dream.  This  aspect  has  been  too  strongly  pre- 
sented. I  think  it  was  very  practical,  for  we  had 
very  practical  and  common-sense  men  and  women 
among  us.  It  was  a  great  good  to  me.  Every  one 
who  was  there  will  say  it  was  to  him,  though  it  is 
extremely  hard  to  tell  of  it.  The  truth  is,  every 
resident  there  had  his  own  view  of  it.  Every  one 
saw  the  life  through  his  own  eyes  and  in  his  own 
way.  Naturally,  they  formed  groups ;  and  one 
group  was  not  like  another.  Certain  ones  were 
just  as  individual  as  in  any  common  society.  I  felt 
and  still  think  that  it  was  a  wholesome  life,  that  it 
was  a  good  practical  education.  I  have  no  doubt  I 
should  not  have  been  living  at  this  day  if  it  had  not 


BROOK  FARM  61 

been  for  the  life  there,  for  what  I  did  on  the  farm 
and  among  the  trees,  in  handling  the  hay  and  even 
in  swinging  the  scythe.  Those  who  have  survived, 
and  been  active  in  their  experiences,  have  certainly 
shown  themselves  persons  of  power  and  faculty, 
with  as  much  common  sense,  on  the  average,  as  or- 
dinary men." 

As  Dwight  has  said  in  these  reminiscences,  the 
school  was  opened  almost  from  the  first.  Persons 
who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  the 
community  sent  their  children,  as  did  others  who 
were  intent  only  on  finding  the  best  possible  in- 
struction for  their  children.  The  prices  were  mod- 
erate, the  surroundings  delightful,  the  moral  at- 
mosphere wholesome ;  and  it  was  in  a  fair 
degree  successful. 

Dwight  directed  the  musical  life  of  the  commu- 
nity. His  enthusiasm  for  the  musical  art  found 
scope  for  expression  at  this  time.  The  materials 
he  had  at  command  were  not  of  the  best,  but  he 
made  the  most  of  them.  He  cultivated  a  taste  for 
the  better  kinds  of  music,  talked  so  enthusiastically 
about  the  divine  mission  of  music,  and  gave  so 
much  time  to  bringing  out  the  best  musical  quali- 
ties of  the  members  of  the  community  that  he 
succeeded  in  impressing  his  own  tastes  and  con- 
victions upon  all  around  him.  His  work  for  music 
has  been  described  by  a  member  of  the  commu- 
nity, Miss  Amelia  Russell,  writing  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  for  November,  1878,  where  she  says  that 
he  was  "  of  a  most  delicately  sensitive  organization ; 


62  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

and  discords  of  every  kind  were  as  antagonistic  to 
him  as  were  false  chords  in  music.  His  whole  life," 
she  says,  "seemed  one  dream  of  music;  and  I  do 
not  think  that  he  was  ever  fully  awake  to  all  the 
harsh  gratings  of  this  outer  world.  We  were  in- 
debted to  him  for  much  of  the  pleasure  of  our 
evening  social  life.  He  was  too  really  musical  to 
endure  the  weariness  of  teaching  beginners  the  first 
rudiments  of  his  own  art,  although  for  some  time 
he  was  our  only  teacher.  I  must  say  he  was  won- 
derfully patient,  considering  his  temperament,  in 
the  task  he  had  assumed ;  for  his  nerves  must  have 
been  most  fearfully  taxed  in  some  of  his  labors,  but 
his  outward  demeanor  did  not  bear  testimony  to 
what  must  often  have  been  his  earnest  desire, —  to 
tear  his  hair  out  by  the  roots." 

In  giving  a  boy's  recollections  of  life  at  Brook 
Farm,  in  the  New  England  Magazine  for  May, 
1894,  Arthur  Sumner  says  that  Dwight  "used  to 
come  in  from  his  toil  in  the  hot  sun  at  noon  to 
give  me  a  lesson  on  the  piano ;  and,  after  doing  that 
job,  he  would  lie  down  on  the  lounge  and  go  to 
sleep,  while  I  played  to  him.  What  a  piece  of 
nonsense  it  was  to  have  a  man  like  that  hoeing 
corn  and  stiffening  his  eloquent  fingers!  But  the 
idea  was,  I  think,  that  all  kinds  of  labor  must  be 
made  equally  honorable,  and  that  the  poet,  painter, 
and  philosopher  must  take  their  turn  at  the  plough 
or  in  the  ditch.  Mr.  Dwight  had  a  quite  feminine 
sweetness  and  delicacy  of  nature." 

Another  member  of  the  community  has  written 


BROOK   FARM  63 

of  the  time  when  Dwight  joined  it,  and  of  his 
earliest  efforts  to  develop  a  musical  interest  and 
taste  among  the  members.  "  This  winter,"  we  are 
told,  "  brought  to  us  a  cordial  sympathizer  and 
earnest  laborer,  John  S.  Dwight,  and  with  him  all 
sorts  of  talk  about  the  meaning  and  use  of  music, 
and  much  delicate  improvisation.  Soon  there  was 
a  class  of  little  ones  crowding  around  the  gentle, 
genial  master,  singing  from  the  first '  Boston  School 
Singing  Book  ' —  has  there  been  so  sweet  a  collec- 
tion since  ?  —  and  later  a  larger  class  who  attacked 
the  gems  in  '  Kingsley's  Choir,'  and  presented  Mo- 
zart's Seventh  and  Twelfth  Masses.  How  mod- 
estly he  speaks  of  the  Mass  Clubs  which  sprang  up 
about  that  time,  not  only  at  Brook  Farm,  but  in 
Boston,  and  of  the  writing  and  lecturing  on  the 
great  masters,  as  if  he  himself  had  not  been  the 
sole  instigator  and  unwearied  worker,  assisted,  no 
doubt,  by  the  articles  of  Miss  Fuller !  First,  it  was 
necessary  to  create  a  larger  want  for  something 
better  than  the  Swiss  Bell  Ringers  and  mangled 
psalmody.  Then  he  set  himself  to  work  to  cause 
to  be  assembled  the  talent  that  would  supply,  while 
it  increased  the  demand.  It  will  never  be  known 
by  what  studied  and  persistent  manipulation  a  suf- 
ficiently large  public  was  brought  to  believe  that 
Beethoven's  symphonies  and  Mozart's  masses  were 
divine  creations,  and  as  such  their  performance 
should  be  called  for  by  all  lovers  of  fine  music." 

The  reference  in  the  above  to  Dwight's  mention 
of  Mass  Clubs  is  to  his  paper   on  "  Music  as  a 


64  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Means  of  Culture,"  published  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  for  September,  1870.  In  that  essay  he 
gave  some  reminiscences  of  the  Brook  Farm  pe- 
riod, and  especially  of  the  awakening  of  musical 
interest  at  that  time.  In  that  awakening  he  was 
the  chief  factor,  and  it  was  his  own  enthusiasm 
which  kindled  to  a  glow  the  musical  interest  of 
others.  The  Mass  Clubs  were  the  result  of  his 
work  for  music  at  Brook  Farm  and  in  Boston,  and 
of  his  effort  to  make  people  acquainted  with  the 
great  composers  and  their  productions.  His  own 
ardor  and  persistence  were  so  great  as  to  arouse  in 
others  a  like  passionate  love  of  music  as  an  art  and 
a  means  of  true  culture.  The  lecturing  on  music 
he  mentions  was  done  by  himself,  for  the  most 
part;  but  it  fell  in  with  the  general  intellectual 
movement  of  the  time.  What  Emerson  was  doing 
for  the  intellectual  life  of  the  time,  Parker  for  its 
religion,  Ripley  for  its  economic  life,  Dwight  was 
doing  for  its  music,  spiritualizing  it,  giving  it  force 
and  character  in  intellectual  convictions,  and  bring- 
ing it  into  close  relations  with  all  the  higher  human 
interests. 

"  It  is  a  fact  of  some  significance,"  Dwight  says, 
"  that  the  interest  here  felt  in  Beethoven  began  at 
the  same  moment  with  the  interest  in  Emerson, 
and  notably  in  the  same  minds  who  found  such 
quickening  in  his  free  and  bracing  utterance.  It 
was  to  a  great  extent  the  great  souls  drawn  to 
'  Transcendentalism  '  (as  it  was  nicknamed),  to  es- 
cape spiritual  starvation,  who  were  most  drawn  also 


BROOK    FARM  65 

to  the  great,  deep  music  which  we  began  to  hear 
at  that  time.  For,  be  it  remembered,  the  first  great 
awakening  of  the  musical  instinct  here  was  when 
the  C  Minor  Symphony  of  Beethoven  was  played, 
thirty  years  ago  or  more,  in  that  old  theatre  long 
since  vanished  from  the  heart  of  the  dry-goods 
part  of  Boston,  which  has  been  converted  into  an 
'Odeon,'  where  an  'Academy  of  Music'  gave  us 
some  first  glimpses  of  the  glories  of  great  orches- 
tral music.  Some  may  yet  remember  how  young 
men  and  women  of  the  most  cultured  circles,  whom 
the  new  intellectual  dayspring  had  made  thought- 
ful, and  at  the  same  time  open  and  impressible  to 
all  appeals  of  art  and  beauty,  used  to  sit  there 
through  the  concert  in  that  far-off  upper  gallery  or 
sky-parlor,  secluded  in  the  shade,  and  give  them- 
selves up  completely  to  the  influence  of  the  sublime 
harmonies  that  sank  to  their  souls,  enlarging  and 
coloring  thenceforth  the  whole  horizon  of  their  life. 
Then  came  the  Brook  Farm  experiment.  And  it 
is  equally  a  curious  fact  that  music,  and  of  the  best 
kind,  —  the  Beethoven  sonatas,  the  masses  of  Mozart 
and  Haydn, —  got  at,  indeed,  in  a  very  humble, 
home-made,  and  imperfect  way,  was  one  of  the  chief 
interests  and  refreshments  of  those  halcyon  days. 
Nay,  it  was  among  the  singing  portion  of  those 
plain  farmers,  teachers,  and  (but  for  such  cheer)  do- 
mestic drudges  that  the  first  example  sprang  up  of 
the  so-called  '  Mass  Clubs,'  once  so  in  vogue  among 
small  knots  of  amateurs.  They  met  to  practise 
music  which  to  them  seemed   heavenly,  after  the 


66  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

old  hackneyed  glees  and  psalm-tunes,  though  little 
many  of  them  thought  or  cared  about  the  creed 
embodied  in  the  Latin  words  that  formed  the  con- 
venient vehicle  for  tones  so  thrilling.  The  music 
was  quite  innocent  of  creed,  except  that  of  the 
heart  and  of  the  common  deepest  wants  and  aspira- 
tions of  all  souls,  darkly  locked  up  in  formulas,  till 
set  free  by  the  subtile  solvent  of  the  delicious  har- 
monies. And  our  genial  friend,  who  sits  in  Har- 
per's 'Easy  Chair,'  has  told  the  world  what  parties 
from  'the  Farm  ' — and  he  was  'one  of  them  ' — would 
come  to  town  to  drink  in  the  symphonies,  and  then 
walk  back  the  whole  way,  seven  miles  at  night,  and 
unconscious  of  fatigue,  carrying  home  with  them  a 
new  good  genius,  beautiful  and  strong,  to  help 
them  through  the  next  day's  labors.  Then,  too, 
and  among  the  same  class  of  minds  —  the  same 
'  Transcendental  set ' —  began  the  writing  and  the 
lecturing  on  music  and  its  great  masters,  treating 
it  from  a  high  spiritual  point  of  view,  and  seeking 
(too  imaginatively,  no  doubt)  the  key  and  meaning 
to  the  symphony,  but  anyhow  establishing  a  vital, 
true  affinity  between  the  great  tone-poems  and  all 
great  ideals  of  the  human  mind.  In  the  Harbinger, 
for  years  printed  at  Brook  Farm,  in  the  Dial,  which 
told  the  time  of  days  so  far  ahead,  in  the  writings 
of  Margaret  Fuller  and  others,  these  became  favor- 
ite and  glowing  topics  of  discourse ;  and  such  dis- 
cussion did  at  least  contribute  much  to  make  music 
more  respected, —  to  lift  it  in  the  esteem  of  thought- 
ful persons  to  a  level  with  the  rest  of  the  '  humani- 


BROOK    FARM  67 

ties '  of  culture,  and  especially  to  turn  attention  to 
the  nobler  compositions,  and  away  from  that  which 
is  but  idle,  sensual,  and  vulgar. 

"  The  kind  reader  will  grant  plenary  indulgence 
to  these  gossiping  memories,  and  must  not  for  a 
moment  think  it  is  intended  by  them  to  claim  for 
any  one  class  the  exclusive  credit  of  the  impulse 
given  in  those  days  to  music.  Cecilia  had  her 
ardent  friends  and  votaries  among  conservatives  as 
well.  But  is  it  not  significant,  as  well  as  curious, 
that  the  free-thinking  and  idealistic  class  referred 
to  —  call  them  'Transcendental  dreamers'  if  you 
will :  they  can  afford  to  bear  the  title  now  —  were  so 
largely  engaged  in  the  movement  that  among  the 
'  select  few  '  constant  to  all  opportunities  of  hear- 
ing the  great  music  in  its  days  of  small  things  here 
so  many  of  this  class  were  found  ?  The  ideas  of 
those  enthusiasts,  if  we  look  around  us  now,  have 
leavened  the  whole  thought  and  culture  of  this 
people,  have  melted  icy  creeds,  and  opened  genial 
communion  between  sects,  have  set  the  whole 
breast  of  the  nation  heaving,  till  it  has  cast  off  the 
vampire  of  at  least  one  of  its  great  established 
crimes  and  curses,  have  set  all  men  thinking  of  the 
elevation  of  mankind.  These  are  the  conquering 
ideas ;  and  with  them  came  in  the  respect  for  music, 
which  now  in  its  way,  too,  is  leavening,  refining,  hu- 
manizing, our  too  crude  and  swaggering  democratic 
civilization.  A  short  pedigree,  but  great  ideas,  by 
their  transforming  power,  work  centuries  of  change 
in  a  few  years. 


6S  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  The  great  music  came  in,  then,  because  it  was 
in  full  affinity  with  the  best  thoughts  stirring  in 
fresh,  earnest  souls.  The  same  unsatisfied,  deep 
want  that  shrank  from  the  old  Puritan  creed  and 
practice,  that  sought  a  positive  soul's  joy  instead  of 
abnegation,  that  yearned  for  the  '  beauty  oi  holiness,' 
and  for  communion  with  the  Father  in  some  sin- 
cere way  of  one's  own  without  profession,  that, 
kindled  with  ideals  of  a  heaven  on  earth  and  of  a 
reign  of  love  in  harmony  with  nature's  beauty  and 
the  prophecies  of  art,  found  just  then  and  here  un- 
wonted comfort,  courage,  and  expression  in  the 
strains  of  the  divine  composers,  of  which  we  were 
then  getting  the  first  visitations.  It  was  as  if 
our  social  globe,  charged  with  the  electricity  of 
new  divine  ideas  and  longings, —  germs  of  a  new 
era, —  were  beginning  to  be  haunted  by  auroral 
gleams  and  flashes  of  strange  melody  and  harmony. 
Young  souls,  resolved  to  keep  their  youth,  and 
be  true  to  themselves,  felt  a  mysterious  attraction 
to  all  this,  though  without  culture  musically.  Per- 
sons not  technically  musical  at  all  would  feel  the 
music  as  they  felt  the  rhythm  of  the  ocean  rolling 
in  upon  the  beach.  They  understood  as  little  of 
the  laws  of  the  one  as  of  the  other  fascinating  and 
prophetic  mystery.  Beethoven,  above  all,  struck 
the  key-note  of  the  age.  In  his  deep  music,  so  pro- 
foundly human,  one  heard,  as  in  a  sea-shell,  the 
murmur  of  the  grander  future.  Beethoven,  Handel, 
Mozart,  found  no  more  eager  audience  than  among 
these  '  disciples  of  the  newness '  (as  some  sneeringly 


BROOK  FARM  69 

called  them),  these  believing  ones,  who  would  not 
have  belief  imposed  upon  them,  who  cared  more  for 
life  than  doctrine,  and  to  whom  it  was  a  prime 
necessity  of  heart  and  soul  to  make  life  genial. 
This  was  to  them  '  music  of  the  future,'  in  a  more 
deep  and  real  sense  than  any  Wagner  of  these 
later  times  has  been  inspired  to  write." 

For  a  time,  at  least,  Dwight  gave  himself  up  with 
enthusiasm  to  the  new  life  around  him,  and  to  its 
absorbing  interests.  His  pleasure  in  the  idyllic  side 
of  the  life  he  was  living  is  well  expressed  in  a  note 
to  Lowell,  written  about  seven  months  after  he  had 
taken  up  his  residence  at  Brook  Farm.  "  May  I  not 
hope  to  see  you  at  Brook  Farm  in  this  fine  sea- 
son ?  "  he  asks.  "  I  should  delight  to  have  you  long 
enough  to  conduct  you  about  our  wood  and  river 
walks,  or  take  you  out  in  our  boat,  when  we  might 
discuss  matters  human  and  divine,  or,  better  yet, 
deliver  ourselves  up  to  the  water-sprites  and  to  our 
own  wayward  fancies,  whether  of  noisy  talk  or 
silent  reverie,  like  Nature's  happy  children.  I  have 
forgotten  how  to  write  or  think  or  picture  out  a 
scene  or  thought  in  words.  I  only  feel.  Perhaps 
you  will  bring  a  sprig  or  two  from  the  poetic  plants 
which  have  been  springing  up  under  your  still  fos- 
tering hand  this  summer.  When  are  we  to  have 
the  book  ? " 

He  had  not  wholly  dropped  his  pen,  however; 
and  an  article  on  "  Griswold  and  American  poetry  " 
went  to  the  Christian  Examiner  at  this  time.  In 
the  autumn  Henry  T.  Tuckerman    asked    him    to 


70  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

contribute  translations  from  his  favorite  German 
poets  to  the  Boston  Miscellany.  At  the  same  time 
Lowell  was  writing  to  him  in  behalf  of  his  own  vent- 
ure, the  Pioneer.  Lowell's  letter  indicates  fairly 
well  the  position  which  Dwight  had  gained  as  a 
literary  worker  and  as  a  musical  critic :  — 

"  My  dear  Friend, —  On  the  ist  of  next  January  a 
magazine  will  be  started  in  Boston,  of  which  I  am 
to  be  the  editor.  It  is  to  be  a  free  magazine,  and 
is  to  take  as  high  an  aim  in  art  as  may  be.  I  wish 
to  notice  every  branch  of  art,  and  do  it  in  an  artis- 
tic way.  To  this  end  I  wish  to  get  those  who 
know  something  to  write  for  me  in  its  several  de- 
partments. I  shall  give  them  carte  blanche  as  to 
what  they  say,  not  wishing  to  cut  the  opinions  of 
those  who  know  more  than  I  do  of  the  subjects  on 
which  they  write  down  to  my  own  level. 

"  If  you  are  willing,  I  should  like  to  have  the 
musical  criticism  under  your  charge.  At  first  I 
shall  not  be  able  to  pay  as  much  as  I  wish.  But  I 
will  give  at  the  least  $10  for  every  article  of  three 
pages  or  more,  and  $2  a  page  for  less.  The  possi- 
bility of  raising  our  people's  taste  in  this  divine 
matter  must  be  a  part  of  your  reward  at  first.  If 
the  magazine  succeeds,  I  shall  be  able  and  glad  to 
pay  you  as  you  deserve. 

11  If  you  come  into  Boston,  will  you  come  and  see 
me,  that  we  may  talk  it  over?  If  you  cannot,  will 
you    write    to    that   effect?      Yours   in    love   and 

h°Pe'  J.  R.  Lowell." 


BROOK   FARM  71 

A  fortnight  later  Dwight  wrote :  "  Not  finding 
you  in,  I  take  the  liberty  of  sitting  down  in  your 
office  to  reply  to  yours  of  a  fortnight  since.  I  was 
hoping  to  see  you  in  Boston  before  this,  or  I 
should  have  written.  Your  project  pleases  me  ex- 
ceedingly. I  have  only  time  to  say  that  it  will  give 
me  pleasure  to  be  connected  with  it  in  any  way 
in  which  I  may  further  its  success.  It  would  be  a 
great  pleasure  to  me  to  have  a  corner  in  which  I 
may  freely  whisper  from  time  to  time  what  I  have 
to  say  on  Musical  Art ;  and  in  these  hard  times  I 
shall  be  glad  of  any  additional  resources,  however 
small,  to  eke  out  what  is  exceedingly  small. 

"  I  shall  try  to  call  this  afternoon,  if  perad vent- 
ure I  may  find  you  in  your  office,  and  hear  you 
expose  the  noble  project  further.  Meanwhile  I 
rejoice  to  find  you  grown  so  Pan-theistic,  since  in 
that  I  can  subscribe  myself  your  sympathizer  and 
well-wisher." 

"  I  intended  fully  to  have  seen  you  on  Sunday," 
Lowell  wrote  a  week  later,  "  but  found  myself  so 
happy  at  Frank  Shaw's  that  I  had  not  the  heart  to 
go  away.  It  is  truly  a  gladness  to  me  that  you  are 
willing  to  write  my  musical  criticisms  for  me,  for  I 
do  not  know  any  one  who  can  do  it  so  well. 

"  Can  you  write  something  about  the  symphony 
which  the  Academy  are  to  '  bring  out '  this  winter  ? 
Say  three  or  four  or  five  pages  of  the  size  of  the 
Boston  Miscellany.  Three  of  your  MS.  pages  will 
probably  fill  a  printed  page  of  that  size.  When  I 
specify  the  length,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  curb  your- 


72  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

self:  if  it  should  be  longer,  never  mind.  I  should 
also  like  to  have  a  notice  of  Bohrer,  if  you  have 
heard  him,  to  go  in  fine  print  among  the  notices 
of  the  month.  Any  essay  on  music  that  you  are 
prompted  to  write,  I  shall  be  glad  to  print  and  pay 
for.  I  should  like  to  see  you  when  you  are  in  Bos- 
ton, but  am  generally  out  of  town  Saturday  after- 
noons.    Always  your  friend." 

Dwight  did  write  on  the  Academy  of  Music 
and  other  subjects,  but  the  Pioneer  was  short-lived. 
In  1843  he  contributed  to  the  Democratic  Review 
articles  on  Haydn,  Handel,  and  Mozart;  and  he 
wrote  on  other  subjects  for  the  same  periodical. 
When  Mrs.  Eliza  Lee  was  translating  from  Rich- 
ter  and  publishing  his  biography,  Dwight  lent  her 
valuable  assistance.  "  I  regret  exceedingly,"  she 
wrote  him,  "  that  I  could  not  have  had  the  benefit 
of  your  revision  of  my  book  at  an  earlier  period ; 
for  I  feel  that  your  correction  of  the  translation  has 
been  a  benefit  which  nothing  can  repay." 

The  interest  in  Dwight's  lectures  on  music  led 
to  a  desire  for  their  publication  on  the  part  of  his 
friends.  What  that  interest  was  is  hinted  at  in  a 
note  sent  him  by  Margaret  Fuller,  who  wrote :  — 

"My  dear  Mr.  Dwight, —  I  enclose  the  sum  I 
vainly  attempted  to  rob  from  the  musical  public 
under  cloak  of  your  reputation.  I  shall  not  be  able 
to  hear  your  lecture,  as  it  is  the  last  evening  my 
sister  Fanny  passes  with  us  before  a  separation  like 
to  be  a  long  one,  but  trust  you  will  give  your  audi- 


BROOK    FARM  73 

ence  as  much  pleasure  as  you  did  last  time.  The 
expressions  of  obligation  that  I  heard  were  numer- 
ous. If  there  is  a  concert  or  rehearsal  at  the 
Odeon  on  Saturday  evening,  will  it  be  convenient 
for  you  to  escort  Caroline  and  myself  ?     With  re- 

gard-  S.  M.  Fuller." 

The  desire  to  see  his  lectures  put  into  a  vol- 
ume was  voiced  by  Ellis  Gray  Loring,  who  wrote 
D wight  in  August,  1842  :  "  I  have  had  true  satis- 
faction in  reading  the  lectures  on  Handel  and 
Mozart,  and  doubt  not  they  will  realize  for  me 
what  must  be  your  chief  purpose ;  that  is,  that 
your  readers  shall  always  hereafter  enjoy  and  ap- 
preciate better  the  compositions  of  those  mas- 
ters. I  wish  your  various  writings  on  music 
might  be  collected  and  published.  I  think  they 
would  make,  in  every  sense,  a  successful  work." 
The  same  wish  was  expressed  in  a  letter  from 
George  W.  Curtis,  written  in  January,  1844,  who 
said :  "  When  Charles  Dana  came  running  to  me 
with  what  he  thought  Emerson's  poem,  how  could 
I  help  saying,  It  is  mine?  In  that  case,  at  least, 
it  was  sympathy  for  Emerson's  reputation  that 
prompted  the  speech.  There  is  something  that 
pleases  me  much  in  the  united  works  of  young 
authors.  Imagine  the  united  literary  works  of 
Dwight  and  Curtis  rotting  in  an  odd  drawer  of 
Ticknor's  or  James  Munroe's ;  could  we  ever  look 
each  other  in  the  face  again  ?  What  a  perpetual 
suspicion  there  would  be  that  the  one  swamped  the 


74  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

other !  Do  you  not  mean  some  day  to  gather  your 
musical  essays  together,  and  suffer  them  to  expand 
into  a  book?  though  not  with  the  cream-colored 
calyx  that  Ticknor  affects,  I  beg.  Nay,  might  you 
not  make  some  arrangement  with  Greeley  to  pub- 
lish them  here  in  a  cheap  way,  if  you  would  make 
money?  for  those  who  valued  them  would,  of 
course,  obtain  more  desirable  copies.  If  not,  and 
you  would  think  dignity  compromised,  some  of 
the  regular  publishers  might  be  diplomatized  with. 
They  would  make  a  unique  work.  You  know  we 
have  nothing  similar  in  American  literature,  no 
book  of  artistic  criticism,  have  we  ?  Why  will  you 
not  think  of  it,  if  you  have  not  done  so?  and, 
'what  so  poor  a  man  as  Hamlet  is  may  do,  you 
shall  command."' 

In  1845  there  was  correspondence  with  a  New 
York  publisher  about  a  "  History  of  Music,"  and 
encouragement  was  given;  but  the  book  was  not 
completed.  At  the  same  time  Dwight  proposed 
the  plan  of  putting  his  Dial  essays  into  a  book; 
and  the  publisher  wrote:  "  I  have  read  a  part  of 
the  '  Ideals  of  Every-day  Life '  with  more  care  since 
writing  you,  and  am  highly  pleased  with  it,  so 
much  so  that,  if  you  will  let  me  have  it  after  you 
shall  have  enlarged  it  enough  to  make  fifty  or 
seventy-five  printed  pages  of  a  12  mo,  I  will  add  a 
few  choice  things,  and  publish  it.  I  should  not  ex- 
pect to  make  anything  on  it,  but  would  just  make 
it  pay  for  itself  by  paying  you  a  reasonable  com- 
pensation.    The  chief  object  would  be  to  dissemi- 


BROOK    FARM  75 

nate  the  pure  principles  which  those  sermons  incul- 
cate, and  to  make  known  your  name  as  a  writer 
through  the  large  list  of  the  press  which  is  now  on 
our  exchange  list  from  every  State  in  the  Union. 
I  should  give  away  three  hundred  copies,  at  least. 
Will  you  not  let  me  have  it  at  a  small  compen- 
sation?" This  scheme  also  fell  through,  probably 
because  of  more  urgent  interests  demanding  atten- 
tion at  Brook  Farm. 

His  enthusiastic  interest  in  music  Dwight  ex- 
pressed in  a  letter  written  on  Christmas  Day,  1843. 
It  also  gives  hint  of  his  feeling  of  deprivation  in 
being  shut  out  from  opportunities  to  cultivate 
music  as  he  desired.  The  cordial,  friendly,  and 
even  enthusiastic  letters  of  Mrs.  Child  were  full  of 
spirit  and  courage;  and  especially  was  her  delight 
in  Ole  Bull  of  a  most  exuberant  nature. 

"My  dear  Friend  Mrs.  Child, —  All  things  con- 
spire to  make  me  write  to  you.  It  is  Christmas  night. 
Mr.  Benzon  is  here  to  remind  me  of  you  (though  I 
need  no  reminding),  and  to  take  my  letter;  and, 
above  all,  you  have  spoken  to  me  irresistibly  in 
that  splendid  letter  to  the  Courier  about  'Ole 
Bulbul.'  This  last,  I  believe,  I  must  thank  for 
effectually  breaking  the  spell  of  my  strange,  un- 
pardonable,—  to  myself  even, —  inexplicable  silence. 
I  will  no  longer  respond  only  in  silent  feeling,  but 
in  visible  tokens,  in  words ;  for  therein  you  speak 
like  my  other  self,  therein  you  speak  to  me,  —  not 
for  the  first  time,  surely.    Have  I  not  for  two  whole 


76  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

years  been  receiving  the  kindest  and  sweetest 
recognitions  from  you,  and,  like  a  selfish  dog, 
hoarded  them  up  in  silence,  answering  not  a  word  ? 
Verily,  you  have  heaped  coals  of  fire  upon  my  head. 
First,  that  noble,  soul-stirring  appeal  in  behalf  of 
Mrs.  Colt,  which  I  did  not  answer  because  the  re- 
sult went  against  my  heart;  then  message  after 
message  of  kindest  sympathy  and  remembrance, 
which  have  been  to  me  among  my  great  encourage- 
ments in  a  life  of  perplexity  and  loneliness ;  then 
your  beautiful,  your  most  cheering  and  inspiring 
book, —  a  book  which  I  prize  and  reperuse  with 
double  fondness,  for  the  golden  sunshine  in  it  and 
for  associations  with  the  author  and  the  giver; 
and  now,  finally,  this  outpouring  of  your  true  soul 
about  music,  which  no  one  should  respond  to  more 
promptly  or  fervently  than  myself. 

"  How  shall  I  ever  repay  you  for  all  my  debt? 
If  thoughts  and  feelings  answering  to  yours,  and 
having  a  most  conscious  reference  to  you, —  thoughts 
by  you  suggested  and  suggesting  you, —  were  letters, 
I  should  have  written  to  you  every  day  in  the  year. 
Alas !  I  hope  my  friends  know  expression  with  me 
is  no  measure  of  regard.  You  certainly  will  bear 
me  out  in  saying  it  is  never  too  late  to  repent. 
And  this  is  the  holy,  happy  Christmas, —  a  good 
time  to  shuffle  off  the  coil  of  old  indolent  habit,  and 
to  present  myself  before  you  in  the  clean  robes  of 
new  and  good  intentions.  You  will  not  give  me 
up  for  hopeless.  I  hereby  rebuke,  renounce,  and 
cast  out  from  myself  the  dumb  spirit.     If  he  has 


BROOK  FARM 


77 


occupied  so  long  as  to  have  somewhat  weakened 
my  original  faculty  of  speech,  and  made  me  slow 
and  awkward  at  concocting  a  letter  (for  my  dumb- 
ness has  been  to  all  my  friends,  not  to  you  alone), 
this,  too,  you  will  pardon,  and  accept  a  first  lame 
effort  encouragingly. 

"  I  shall  not  rest  until  I  hear  your  Bulbul.  They 
tell  me  that  in  him  is  the  living  presence  of  com- 
manding genius  in  music;  and  that  is  what  I  have 
hardly,  perhaps  never,  met.  I  have  divined,  recog- 
nized (through  a  glass  darkly),  genius  in  the.  works 
of  great  composers  through  the  imperfect  medium 
of  uninspired  performers,  or  through  my  own  poor 
efforts  to  study  myself  into  their  meaning  by  slow 
and  painful  transfer  of  the  printed  notes  to  the  keys 
of  my  piano.  I  have  been  charmed,  transported, 
robbed  of  my  sleep,  and  haunted  for  days  by  the 
wonderful  performances  of    violinists  and  pianists. 

"  But  I  do  not  feel  quite  sure  that  music  has  yet 
spoken  to  me  through  one  of  her  appointed  organs, 
through  one  of  her  chosen  sons,  in  the  person  of 
a  performer.  And  yet  I  have  heard  something  so 
near  to  inspiration  that  I  require  the  presence  of 
Ole  Bull  to  show  me  whether  it  was  not  that. 

"  During  the  last  week  my  sleep  was  broken,  and 
all  my  habitual  scenes  and  functions  made  stale 
and  wearisome  and  obsolete,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
by  hearing,  not  indeed  a  Persian  nightingale,  but  a 
something  between  a  canary  bird  and  a  thrush.  I 
mean  Vieuxtemps.  He  is  the  perfection  of  art,  if 
nothing  more ;    and  he  must  be  more,  to  be  that. 


78  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

Of  his  tones,  what  you  say  of  Bulbul's  would  not 
be  an  exaggerated  description.  Sometimes  there 
was  nothing  earthly  in  them.  They  were  like 
spirit  disembodied :  they  did  not  contradict  or  limit 
my  soul,  as  all  things  material  or  finite  do,  as  all 
things  must  do  which  have  not  perfect  beauty.  My 
soul  was  free  with  them.  Like  the  stars  and  the 
tints  of  the  sky  at  all  hours,  I  enjoyed  them  with 
an  entire  surrender  of  myself  and  with  a  sweet  re- 
sponse. Then  they  were  wild,  nervous,  and  elec- 
trifying. Indeed,  the  bold  certainty,  bold  yet  calm, 
the  sudden  flashing  energy  with  which  he  always 
attacked  a  theme,  was  a  perpetual  surprise  and 
a  perpetual  conquest.  The  melody  was  certainly 
new-born  under  his  hands:  there  was  no  possibil- 
ity of  its  becoming  old  or  wearisome.  The  nature 
of  the  instrument,  too,  its  appetizing  harshness,  its 
racy,  sharp  violinity,  came  honestly  out,  more  elo- 
quent and  musical  than  if  it  were  all  sweet.  His 
compositions,  not  very  profound  or  impassioned, 
were  beautiful,  were  original.  This  made  it  seem 
cold  and  only  artistical  to  many.  But  there  was  a 
uniform  subdued  sensibility  and  a  quiet  earnest- 
ness in  his  whole  air  that  would  not  let  me  believe 
him  without  a  soul.  He  moved  my  soul.  Could 
he  have  done  it  unless  he  had  played  from  at  least 
an  equal  depth  ?  Could  he  have  caused  me  to  feel 
if  he  did  not  feel  himself?  He  was  born  for  the 
violin,  I  know.  A  youth  of  twenty-three,  he  has 
exhausted  its  known  powers.  The  most  expe- 
rienced critics  cannot  discover  a  want  in  his  per- 


BROOK  FARM  79 

formance.  Perhaps  you  think,  if  the  critics  cannot, 
the  simple  hearts  can.  Well,  he  delighted  me  with 
the  peculiar  delight  of  finding  something  perfect  in 
the  outward.  Modest  and  unconscious,  not  thrust- 
ing himself  between  his  music  and  you,  he  seemed 
to  be  the  artist  in  a  high  and  holy  sense,  to  be  filled 
with  the  true  idea  and  sentiment  of  art,  to  lose 
himself  in  exercising  an  infallible  mastery  over  his 
instrument.  .  But  not  an  infallible  mastery  over 
this  most  wonderful,  most  common  instrument,  this 
human  heart  ?  He  certainly  has  not  conquered 
the  multitude  like  Ole  Bull.  Perhaps,  though  a 
true  artist,  he  yet  lacks  genius.  If  he  has  it,  it  is 
not  of  the  popular  recognizable  sort.  One  thing 
was  most  wonderful  to  think  of  afterwards, —  that 
his  art,  so  admirable,  so  inspiring,  seemed  at  the 
moment  nothing  strange  or  difficult,  nothing  but  the 
simplest, —  no  more  marvellous  than  daylight,  but 
yet  as  marvellous,  as  hard  to  explain  or  analyze.  I 
say  he  is  between  a  canary  and  a  thrush,  because 
he  is  such  a  polished  singer  on  the  one  hand,  and 
yet,  so  far  from  being  a  tame  one,  he  has  plenty  of 
'gism.'  He  laughs  and  mocks  like  the  thrush. 
He  is  wild  and  wood-like  and  mysterious  and  inimi- 
table like  him. 

"  Wednesday,  27th. —  I  am  just  from  the  Fourier 
convention,  where  I  spend  day  and  night.  It  is 
intensely  interesting,  probably  the  only  great  au- 
dience in  this  world  where  most  exciting  contro- 
versy could  be  carried  on  in  a  perfectly  sweet  spirit 
on  both  sides.     How  much  of  this  is  owing  to  the 


80  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

'spirit  that  moves  over  the  face  of  the  troubled 
waters '  when  William  Channing's  voice  is  raised ! 
But  I  cannot  tell  you  of  it  in  this.  Here  I  feel 
with  new  force  the  divine  significance  of  music. 
You  have  said  the  truest  thing  ever  said  about  it 
when  you  called  music  the  'soprano,  or  feminine, 
principle  of  the  universe,'  the  principle  of  all  things, 
etc.  That  music  is  so  becoming  recognized  as  the 
art  of  arts,  the  soul  of  them  all,  at  the  very  same 
time  when  the  law  of  social  harmonies  is  being  an- 
nounced, is  a  fact  not  without  significance.  Were 
it  not  worth  while  to  give  a  life  to  develop  the 
analogy  ? " 

In  October  of  the  next  year  Mrs.  Child  wrote, 
urging  Dwight  to  prepare  an  article  on  Ole  Bull 
for  the  Democratic  Review,  and  offering  to  secure 
him  free  admission  to  the  great  violinist's  concerts 
if  he  would  do  so.  Dwight  promptly  replied ;  but 
the  first  part  of  the  letter,  which  touched  upon 
personal  experiences  and  sorrows,  was  cut  away 
and  destroyed  by  Mrs.  Child.  In  a  fragment  of  it 
which  remains,  he  says :  "  The  truth  is,  my  friend, 
I  am  oppressed  with  sadness.  I  have  had  heavy 
sorrows  to  bear  in  these  later  times  which  have 
quite  checked  the  elasticity  that  seeks  expression." 
The  part  of  the  letter  touching  upon  music  and 
Ole  Bull  explains  why  Dwight  did  not  give  more 
time  to  literary  pursuits,  and  is  as  follows :  — 

"  Now  as  to  Ole  Bull.  I  heard  him  twice  last 
winter.  Excepting  only  a  symphony  of  Beethoven 
or  a  mass  of   Mozart,  nothing  ever  filled  me  with 


BROOK  FARM  8 1 

such  deep,  solemn  joy.  I  had  spoken  warmly  of 
Vieuxtemps,  and  still  he  is  very  beautiful  in  my 
memory.  The  popular  award  of  '  artistical  perfec- 
tion '  to  Vieuxtemps  and  '  genius '  to  Ole  Bull  is 
not  quite  just  to  the  former.  I  felt  in  him  more 
than  he  gave  me  to  hear.  I  do  not  believe  that  he 
has  exhausted  himself  yet.  But  Ole  Bull  is  un- 
doubtedly the  stronger  and  greater  man.  I  should 
doubt  if  he  were  the  more  simple  of  the  two.  He 
is  certainly  the  most  original,  the  most  never-failing 
and  commanding.  He  does  inspire  as  the  other 
cannot.  The  most  glorious  sensation  I  ever  had 
was  to  sit  in  one  of  his  audiences,  and  to  feel  that 
all  were  elevated  to  the  same  pitch  with  myself,  that 
the  spirit  in  every  breast  had  risen  to  the  same 
level.  My  impulse  was  to  speak  to  any  one  and 
to  every  one  as  to  an  intimate  friend.  The  most 
indifferent  person  was  a  man  —  a  living  soul — to 
me.  The  most  remote  and  proud  I  did  not  fear 
nor  despise.  In  that  moment  they  were  acces- 
sible,—  nay,  more,  worth  reaching.  This  certainly 
was  the  highest  testimony  to  his  great  art,  to  his 
great  soul. 

"  Frederic  Rackemann,  the  pianist,  who  has  him- 
self the  fire  of  genius,  was  intimate  with  him.  He 
would  speak,  by  turns,  of  Bull  and  of  Vieuxtemps  as 
the  greatest,  and  that,  apparently,  with  the  most 
entire  unconsciousness  of  any  inconsistency.  Yet 
I  judge  that  his  sympathy  was  more  with  Bull. 
Once  he  said  that  '  Vieuxtemps  was  altogether  the 
greater  artist';  but,  on  being  pressed,  he  said  that 


82  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Ole  Bull  could  do  all  that  he  could,  with  a  little 
study,  and  a  great  deal  more.  It  was  plain  where 
his  enthusiasm  shone  forth. 

11 1  should  really  delight  to  do  the  thing  you  pro- 
pose, were  I  only  sure  of  one  thing, —  my  ability.  I 
have,  to  be  sure,  very,  very  little  time,  my  musical 
and  literary  life  being  almost  indefinitely  post- 
poned. But  I  would  contrive  to  steal  time.  Let 
me  say  that  I  will  expose  myself  to  the  temptation 
of  doing  it,  but  I  will  not  promise.  Hear  him 
more,  I  certainly  should;  and  your  kind  sugges- 
tion about  the  pecuniary  facilities  would  be  highly 
acceptable, —  nay,  indispensable ;  for  now  that  I  am 
so  lost  to  intellectual  society  in  Boston,  so  identi- 
fied with  a  despised  sect,  and  so  absorbed  here 
as  to  lose  the  run  of  musical  acquaintances,  free 
tickets  are  not  at  my  command,  as  they  once  were. 
One  thing  more :  I  want  to  know  Ole  Bull ;  yet  in 
my  obscurity  I  cannot  seek  him  out,  surrounded  as 
he  is  always  by  a  brilliant  crowd.  Is  it  not  possi- 
ble that  the  frankness  and  originality  of  our  com- 
munity life  might  interest  him  enough  to  warrant 
his  riding  out  to  Brook  Farm?  Mr.  Chickering 
or  Schmidt  would  gladly  show  him  the  way.  Were 
I  in  the  city,  I  certainly  should  know  him.  I 
cannot  answer  your  question  about  counterpoint. 
With  warmest  acknowledgments  to  Mr.  Hopper,  I 
am  sincerely  and  gratefully  your  friend, 

"J.  S.  Dwight." 


BROOK    FARM  83 

Brook  Farm  has  been  subjected  to  much  of 
criticism,  and  to  not  a  little  of  amusing  comment. 
That  it  should  have  been  the  subject  of  banter  and 
sarcasm  is  not  in  the  least  strange,  especially  as  it 
was  viewed  by  those  who  were  not  in  sympathy 
with  its  purposes.  It  has  also  suffered  from  the 
reminiscences  of  its  own  members,  who  have  treated 
it  as  one  would  a  youthful  escapade,  while  they 
commented  freely  on  the  serious  purposes  of  its 
older  and  more  responsible  leaders.  Though  it  has 
been  written  of  often  as  if  it  were  a  holiday  picnic, 
yet  it  did  not  wear  such  an  aspect  to  those  who 
were  responsible  for  its  policy  and  its  success. 

Dwight,  not  less  than  Ripley,  believed  in  Brook 
Farm,  and  devoted  to  it  the  whole  of  his  capacities 
while  it  continued  in  existence.  He  belonged  to 
the  inner  circle  of  its  leaders,  helped  to  shape  its 
policy,  and  felt  the  responsibility  of  its  success  or 
failure  resting  upon  him  personally.  While  he  was 
one  of  the  leaders  in  the  social  life  of  the  com- 
munity, he  was  also  a  wise  counsellor  in  the  admin- 
istrative management.  Not  a  fluent  speaker,  and 
restrained  by  his  diffidence  from  public  utterance, 
his  voice  was  often  heard  in  the  meetings  of  the 
community  when  visitors  were  to  be  welcomed  or 
the  general  interests  discussed.  During  the  period 
when  the  teachings  of  Fourier  were  under  consider- 
ation and  the  policy  of  the  community  was  being 
reshaped,  he  was  one  of  the  most  practical  in  sug- 
gestion and  fertile  in  plans  and  wise  in  counsel  of 
any  of  the  leaders.     No  one  else,  not  even  Ripley, 


84  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

was  superior  to  him  in  the  work  of  distinctly  shap- 
ing the  future  plans  of  the  community. 

It  may  be  frankly  said,  however,  that  Dwight  had 
no  financial  skill,  and  that  his  administrative  gifts 
were  limited;  but  he  had  in  him  a  deep,  strong, 
practical  common  sense,  a  capacity  for  touching  life 
on  the  side  of  its  every-day  interests,  and  he  greatly 
admired  men  of  common  sense  and  executive 
power.  While  of  a  most  refined  and  sensitive 
organization  himself,  delicately  alive  to  every  aes- 
thetic interest,  and  of  exquisite  tastes,  he  was  no 
dilettante,  and  in  no  sense  over-refined  or  finical. 
He  mingled  freely  with  the  people  of  the  Farm, 
keenly  sympathized  with  the  toils  and  deprivations 
of  workingmen,  and  was  eager  to  do  what  he  could 
to  improve  the  condition  of  those  hard  beset  in 
the  struggles  of  life.  He  had  no  inclination  to  de- 
spise those  who  were  not  cultured,  but  freely  appre- 
ciated the  genuine  gifts  of  all  persons.  He  loved 
genuineness  and  thoroughness  wherever  they  were 
found,  and  he  exercised  a  large  and  wholesome  in- 
fluence in  putting  these  virtues  into  the  working 
policy  of  Brook  Farm. 

Far  too  much  emphasis  has  been  laid  on  the 
social  side  of  Brook  Farm  by  those  who  have 
written  about  it ;  but,  in  fact,  at  all  the  meetings  of 
the  community  —  even  little  tea  parties  —  the  talk 
was  likely  to  run  on  high  and  serious  themes. 
During  the  first  two  or  three  years  it  is  true  that 
the  social  interest  was  a  prominent  feature,  and 
much  time  was  given  to  amusements  and  entertain- 


BROOK  FARM  85 

ments  of  all  kinds.  As  those  who  have  written  of 
the  life  at  the  Farm  were  nearly  all  quite  young  at 
this  time,  it  is  very  natural  they  should  have  given 
most  attention  to  describing  what  to  them  was 
then  the  interest  which  left  the  deepest  impres- 
sion. The  life  was  never  sombre  or  lugubrious, 
but  always  bright  and  sympathetic,  a  wise  freedom 
being  allowed  to  all.  Yet  it  is  true  that  a  thought- 
ful and  earnest  spirit  pervaded  the  whole  life  of  the 
people.  Serious  subjects  were  discussed  more  than 
is  usual  elsewhere,  and  a  tone  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment made  itself  felt  on  every  hand. 

A  hint  of  what  the  social  life  was  at  Brook  Farm 
may  be  gained  from  a  letter  written  Jan.  27,  1845, 
describing  a  little  coffee  party  planned  by  Amelia 
Russell,  and  attended  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ripley, 
Charles  and  Maria  Dana,  Albert  Brisbane,  John 
Orvis,  John,  Marianne,  and  Frances  Dwight,  Os- 
borne, Eunice,  and  Fanny  Macdaniel,  Sarah  White- 
house,  and  Frederic  Cabot :  "  Coffee  was  handed 
round,  a  few  puns  perpetrated.  Meanwhile  a  holy 
aspiration  from  high  heaven  was-  stealing  quietly 
and  unseen  over  the  souls  of  all  present.  Mr.  Rip- 
ley proposed  for  a  toast  Albert  Brisbane,  the  first 
apostle  of  Fourierism,  and  made  some  interesting 
and  rather  humorous  remarks  about  the  great  assist- 
ance he  had  afforded  us  in  the  convention  and  in 
the  framing  of  the  new  constitution.  Mr.  Brisbane 
disclaimed  it  all,  grew  eloquent  in  reply,  spoke  of 
Brook  Farm  society  and  the  friendship  he  had  en- 
joyed here,  the  pleasure    of  receiving   many  kind 


86  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

offices  at  the  hand  of  friendship,  etc.  I  cannot  at- 
tempt to  repeat  the  toasts  that  were  given,  they 
were  so  numerous  and  all  good,  nor  the  excellent 
remarks  that  were  made  by  Ripley,  Dana,  Bris- 
bane, and  Dwight.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  I  never 
heard  either  of  them  speak  better.  It  was  all 
beauty  and  inspiration.  There  was  true  humor,  elo- 
quence, elegance,  deep  earnestness,  and  sacred  so- 
lemnity. After  those  present  were  toasted,  beau- 
tiful tributes  were  paid  to  the  absent.  Fourier ; 
William  H.  Channing,  the  priest  and  poet  of  asso- 
ciation ;  Greeley ;  and  other  New  York  friends, — 
were  remembered,  and  each  toast  prefaced  by  inter- 
esting remarks.  Charles  Dana  proposed  his  friend, 
Parke  Godwin,  spoke  of  him  with  deep  feeling  and 
all  the  earnestness  of  affection,  and,  just  as  he  was 
concluding,  Fred  added,  '  God  wins  always  in  the 
end.'  So  appropriate  and  good  a  pun  was  univer- 
sally applauded.  We  set  it  down  for  Fred's  best, 
but  afterwards  found  that  he  also  was  encircled 
with  a  heavenly  halo,  and  everything  he  did  that 
evening  was  his  best. 

"  As  the  speeches  became  higher  and  holier  and 
more  beautiful,  and  the  broadest  principles  were 
uttered  from  golden  lips,  and  our  emotions  grew 
more  elevated  and  solemn,  Charles  Dana  spoke  of  a 
meeting  in  New  York  where  they  all  joined  hands, 
and  pledged  themselves  to  the  cause  of  association; 
and  he  called  upon  us  warmly  and  fervently  to  do 
the  same.  With  one  impulse  we  all  arose,  and 
formed  a  circle  around  the  little  table;  and,  hand 


BROOK    FARM  87 

in  hand,  we  vowed  '  truth  to  the  cause  of  God  and 
humanity.'  It  was  a  solemn  moment,  never,  never 
to  be  forgotten.  Then  our  circle  of  friendship  was 
toasted.  What  beautiful  allusions  Dwight  made 
to  our  circle,  and  to  circles  within  circles,  that  it 
was  not  exclusive,  but  that  endless  circles  might 
be  drawn  around  it,  all  having  the  same  centre ! 
Mr.  Ripley  wished,  very  humorously,  that  our  Pha- 
lanx might  grow  till  we  could  join  hands  around 
Palmer's  woods,  around  Cora  Island,  across  the 
river.  Mr.  Brisbane  would  have  the  circle  sur- 
round the  globe.  Then  Mr.  Brisbane,  after  Mr. 
Ripley  had  been  speaking  of  circles,  said  he  had 
omitted  the  ellipse, —  the  emblem  of  love  centred 
in  two  foci, —  and  made  beautiful  remarks  upon 
that.  Dwight  made  a  good  pun,  saying  Mr.  Bris- 
bane had  supplied  the  ellipse  —  or  omission  —  in 
Mr.  Ripley's  speech.  Dwight  toasted  the  coffee-pot 
in  this  wise :  '  Our  patient  friend,  the  coffee-pot, — 
though  drained  of  its  contents,  it  has  not  lost  its 
patience :  if  it  is  not  spiritual,  it  certainly  is  not 
material  (is  immaterial).'  Mr.  Ripley  jumped  a 
foot  and  turned  directly  round  at  so  good  a  pun. 
Fred  gave  a  toast  with  no  little  wit  and  humor: 
'  John  Allen, —  may  his  wisdom  grow  to  his  love.' 
Immense  applause.  Dwight  gave  a  beautiful  toast 
to  the  memory  of  the  dead, —  the  dead  moon,  and 
all  the  events  in  the  dead  past  which  have  led  us 
on  to  possess  any  real  life.  I  wish  I  could  remem- 
ber every  word,  it  was  so  poetical  and  beautiful. 
Allusion  had  been  made  to  Mr.  Orvis  as  Orpheus, 


88  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Dwight  ending  with  saying,  '  God  bless  the  sun, 
and  also  Orpheus :  God  bless  the  moon,  and  also 
Morpheus.'  Mr.  Ripley  made  quite  a  long  and  hu- 
morous speech  upon  a  glass  of  punch — quintescent 
punch  —  which  he  drank  at  a  New  York  meeting, 
and  which  roused  a  dull  company  into  great  activ- 
ity, since  it  was  so  exquisitely  compounded  that,  if 
it  had  made  a  man  quite  drunk,  it  would  not  have 
injured  his  intellect.  This  called  out  two  puns. 
Dwight  asked  if  the  party  was  a  Punch  and  Judy 
spree  (jeu  d' esprit) ;  and  Fred  said  that  it  seemed 
only  necessary  to  punch  Mr.  Ripley  to  get  a  good 
speech  from  him.  In  the  early  part  of  the  evening 
Mr.  Brisbane  alluded  beautifully  to  Dwight,  calling 
him  the  fringe  in  the  great  associative  movement, 
not  a  common  fake,  civilized  fringe,  but  one  that 
was  centred  deep  in  inward  principles,  and  mani- 
fested itself  outwardly  in  various  forms  of  beauty, 
like  the  odor  and  color  of  flowers.  Very  beautiful 
were  his  words,  but  my  memory  fails.  So  it  ended 
at  twelve  o'clock ;  and  we  separated  to  pass  a  sleep- 
less night  in  the  company  of  solemn,  pleasing,  and 
exciting  thoughts.  You  must  imagine  a  great  deal 
I  have  described  so  poorly !  Our  entertainment 
was  one  of  a  regular  series,  ascending  gradually 
from  a  few  jokes  to  the  highest  spiritual  emotions, 
and  then  gradually  descending  again." 

All  this  was  sentimental  and  somewhat  extrava- 
gant, but  it  shows  the  enthusiasm  of  youth.  An 
enthusiasm  like  this,  however  aroused,  has  a  real 
meaning,  and  shows  soundness  of  life  in  that  which 


BROOK    FARM  89 

produces  it.  There  was  something  here  to  bind 
these  men  and  women  together  in  closest  ties  of 
fidelity  to  an  idea. 

In  religion  the  greatest  freedom  existed.  Very 
little  of  formal  piety  showed  itself,  and  the  attitude 
of  the  leaders  was  one  that  was  radical  almost  to  an 
extreme.  In  an  unconventional  and  informal  way, 
religion  was  a  powerful  influence  throughout  the 
life  of  the  community ;  and  a  strong  religious  feel- 
ing and  conviction  existed.  Though  Ripley  and 
Dwight  had  left  the  church,  and  many  of  the  others 
did  not  attend  church  services  regularly,  yet  there 
was  a  truly  religious  spirit  in  the  community  and  a 
deep  devotional  feeling.  It  took  the  form  of  a 
strong  desire  for  social  justice,  and  was  a  pervasive 
influence  in  this  direction  among  the  more  thought- 
ful and  intelligent.  When  William  Henry  Chan- 
ning  spent  a  Sunday  at  Brook  Farm,  he  preached 
to  the  people,  and  with  great  effect.  He  was  the 
oracle  and  religious  guide  of  the  community,  its 
confessor  and  saint.  He  had  a  wonderful  gift  for 
planting  in  the  minds  of  the  impressionable  the 
seeds  of  devotion  and  consecration  to  high  ideas 
and  ideals.  In  this  way  he  exerted  a  powerful  in- 
fluence over  the  minds  of  all  the  younger  members 
of  the  community. 

Dwight  lived  in  the  Eyrie,  the  first  house 
built  by  the  community,  and  so  named  because  it 
was  located  on  a  rock, —  the  highest  point  on  the 
Farm.  Here  he  had  the  Ripleys  for  house  neigh- 
bors, here  the  library  was  located,  and  here,  also, 


9o  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

the  classes  met  their  teachers.  In  this  house  the 
more  intelligent  members  of  the  community  met 
for  recreation  and  discussion  in  the  evenings,  and 
within  it  the  musical  culture  of  the  community  was 
developed  in  personal  study  or  in  club  training. 

After  he  had  been  at  the  Farm  for  some  time, 
Dwight  was  joined  by  his  parents  and  sisters,  who 
remained  members  until  the  end  came.  On  Christ- 
mas Eve,  1846,  his  sister  Marianne  was  married  to 
John  Orvis.  Marianne  Dwight  had  been  an  assist- 
ant and  then  a  preceptress  in  Mr.  Bailey's  "  High 
School  for  Young  Ladies "  in  Boston.  She  was 
the  teacher  of  drawing  at  Brook  Farm,  and  an 
assistant  in  Latin.  Frances  Dwight  was  as  much 
a  lover  of  music  as  her  brother,  shared  in  his  study 
of  it  at  this  time,  and  assisted  him  in  teaching  it  to 
the  children. 

At  the  end  of  1844  a  change  began  at  Brook 
Farm  in  the  agitation  about  the  teachings  of 
Fourier.  His  chief  apostle  in  this  country  was 
Albert  Brisbane,  and  a  visit  of  his  to  Brook  Farm 
is  described  in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  Dwight's 
sisters,  Dec.  22,  1844:  — 

"  Brisbane  arrived  last  evening.  This  morning 
we  assembled  at  half-past  ten  to  hear  what  he  had 
to  say.  He  promised  us  for  the  forenoon  merely 
the  history  of  his  travels  in  Europe ;  but  it  was 
mingled  with  so  much  philosophy,  his  views  were 
so  broad  and  deep,  his  language  so  eloquent  and 
forcible,  that  we  could  not  but  feel  gratified  and 
instructed.     What  he  said  of  nationalities  was  very 


BROOK  FARM  91 

fine, —  that  in  each  nation  we  see  a  predominating 
sentiment,  which  characterizes  it  throughout.  In 
England  familism  is  predominant.  This  marks 
the  English  landscape,  dotting  it  with  cottages  and 
manor  houses.  This  pervades  the  industry  of  the 
nation,  in  which  the  useful  always  predominates. 
In  France  cabalism  is  the  ruling  sentiment.  Social 
feeling,  love  of  variety,  amusements,  etc.,  mark  the 
people.  In  all  their  manufactures  they  have  the 
elegant  in  view.  The  destiny  of  France  has  been 
to  break  down  the  feudal  spirit  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
to  destroy  Catholicism  and  aristocracy.  He  gave 
a  fine  picture  of  the  history  of  France  up  to  her 
present  speculative  time,  and  asserted  that  only  in 
that  country,  amidst  such  a  people,  could  such  a 
genius  as  Fourier  have  been  born. 

11  This  afternoon  Mr.  Brisbane  spoke  on  the  pros- 
pects of  association  in  France,  which  he  considers 
rather  miserable  and  hopeless.  Here  is  the  field, 
and  here  at  Brook  Farm  must  the  efforts  of  all 
be  concentrated.  Probably  Mr.  Brisbane  will  come 
and  live  with  us.  But  I  have  no  time  to  tell  you 
anything  that  was  planned  and  devised  for  this  next 
year's  operations.  It  is  hopeful,  is  it  not,  that  we 
have  this  first  year  a  dividend  of  profits  amounting 

to  $1,445? 

u  Our  sister  associate,  M.  A.  Williams,  was  this 
morning  released  from  her  severe  sufferings  by 
death, —  the  first  death  that  has  occurred  here. 
A  beautiful  grove  of  cypress-trees  back  of  our 
house  has  been  selected  for  her   grave.     She  has 


92  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

been  taken  care  of  in  the  best  and  kindest  manner, 
and  received  universal  sympathy.  Nowhere  else 
could  this  poor  woman,  who  has  no  near  relatives 
and  no  property,  have  fared  so  well.  Here  is  one 
of  the  pleasantest  blessings  of  association." 

The  same  person  gave  an  account  of  a  visit  of 
Robert  Owen  to  Brook  Farm,  and  her  letter  opens 
up  an  interesting  view  of  the  inside  life  of  the  com- 
munity: — 

"  To-day  I  have  wished  for  you  to  enjoy  with  us 
a  most  delightful  visit  from  Robert  Owen.  Never 
was  I  so  agreeably  disappointed  in  any  one.  The 
old  man  has  a  beautiful  spirit  of  infinite  benevo- 
lence. I  really  love  and  reverence  him.  He  is 
seventy-four,  full  of  energy  and  activity,  very  cour- 
teous, attends  carefully  to  every  little  etiquette,  pats 
the  children  on  the  head,  and  has  a  smile  and  a 
pleasant  word  for  all.  Last  evening  he  gave  us 
a  lecture  on  socialism,  and  another  to-day.  I  am 
astonished  at  his  views, —  to  find  that  we  differ  much 
in  speculations  and  in  details, —  yet  we  have  one 
and  the  same  object,  and  can  meet  on  a  common 
ground.  After  his  lecture  he  gave  us  an  account 
of  his  experiment  at  New  Lanark,  which  he  carried 
on  with  two  thousand  persons  for  thirty  years,  and 
then  left  in  the  care  of  others.  These  persons 
were  of  the  very  dregs  of  society,  when  he  took 
them.  Now  they  are  mentioned  in  statistics  as 
being  the  most  moral  population  of  Great  Britain. 
The  whole  story  was  very  interesting.  So  was  his 
account  of  the  Rapp  community.     I   have   always 


BROOK    FARM 


93 


associated  his  name  with  New  Harmony,  but  he 
says  this  was  conducted  by  people  who  understood 
not  his  principles. 

"  After  he  had  finished,  Mr.  Ripley  rose,  and  paid 
him  a  very  handsome  tribute,  inviting  him  to  be 
with  us  whenever  he  could,  and  expressing  our 
sense  of  the  honor  we  felt  he  had  conferred  upon 
us,  proposed  Robert  Owen  as  a  sentiment,  wishing 
he  might  always  enjoy  in  his  own  mind  that  sub- 
lime happiness  that  will  one  day  be  the  portion  of 
the  human  race.  Owen  expressed  himself  as  much 
pleased  with  our  experiment,  and  wondered  at  our 
success.  He  is  going  to  England,  to  return  here 
in  September.  He  has  taken  the  common  sense 
path  to  association.  I  wish  I  could  see  you,  to  tell 
you  more  of  this  interesting  forenoon." 

In  December,  1843,  a  large  convention  was  held 
in  Boston  of  the  friends  of  association.  The  com- 
munities at  Hopedale,  Northampton,  Skaneateles, 
and  others  were  represented.  Rev.  Adin  Ballou 
spoke  for  Christian  communism,  Charles  A.  Dana 
advocated  the  Brook  Farm  type  of  social  co-opera- 
tion, and  Brisbane  strongly  urged  the  claims  of 
Fourierism.  Among  the  speakers  were  Ripley, 
Greeley,  William  H.  Channing,  and  several  others. 
So  great  was  the  interest  of  the  meeting  that  it 
continued  into  the  first  week  of  1844,  and  all  the 
sessions  were  crowded  with  eager  listeners.  The 
object  of  the  meeting  was  a  free  interchange  of 
views  on  the  part  of  associationists,  communists, 
socialists,  and  other  advocates  of  a  social  reforma- 


94  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

tion.  The  desire  was  to  find  some  common  basis 
of  action  in  furtherance  of  social  reform.  Ripley 
and  Channing  were,  at  first,  very  reluctant  to  ac- 
cept the  teachings  of  Fourier,  which  were  advocated 
with  great  eloquence  and  persistency  by  Brisbane. 
Gradually,  however,  they  were  won  over  to  a  more 
favorable  consideration  of  the  methods  for  organiz- 
ing industry  which  had  been  developed  by  Fourier 
in  his  writings. 

During  the  year  1844  the  Fourierite  theory  of 
organized  industrial  life  was  put  into  practice  at 
Brook  Farm,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so  with 
its  limited  numbers  and  resources.  From  this  time 
on  Dwight  became  much  more  active  in  his  interest 
in  the  community,  and  more  thoroughly  identified 
himself  with  the  spirit  of  social  reform  which  it 
exemplified.  The  change  in  Brook  Farm  began,  in 
fact,  early  in  1844,  partly  as  the  result  of  the  discus- 
sions then  going  on  and  partly  as  the  result  of  news- 
paper attacks.  The  New  York  Herald  made  such 
an  onslaught  on  Brook  Farm  at  this  time  that  pupils 
and  boarders  withdrew  on  account  of  it,  and  the 
question  of  income  had  to  be  seriously  considered. 
An  effort  was  now  made  to  increase  the  productive- 
ness of  the  farm  and  to  enlarge  the  number  of  pay- 
ing industries.  Two  letters  of  this  time  will  give 
glimpses  into  the  efforts  which  were  making  to 
adjust  the  life  of  the  community  to  the  new  condi- 
tions :  — 

"  I  belong  to  a  group,"  wrote  one  of  D wight's 
sisters,    "for    making    fancy    articles    for    sale    in 


BROOK    FARM  95 

Boston.  We  have  been  very  busy  at  it  of  late,  and 
Amelia  Russell  and  I  are  very  much  amused  at  the 
idea  of  our  having  turned  milliners  and  makers  of 
cap-tabs.  Our  manufacture  is  quite  workmanlike, 
I  assure  you.  We  realize  considerable  money  ( J ) 
from  this,  and  hope,  women  though  we  are,  to  have 
by  and  by  the  credit  of  doing  some  productive 
labor.  We  are  now  having  frequent  teachers'  meet- 
ings to  improve  our  educational  practice,  and  ap- 
proximate it  to  our  plan.  In  all  this  I  feel  a  deep 
interest." 

"  A  chosen  body  of  our  people  are  exceedingly 
busy  making  a  new  constitution.  I  guess  we  shall 
have  a  good  one,  and  such  a  one  as  will  make  civi- 
lizees  open  their  eyes  wide  with  astonishment.  I 
wish  you  could  have  seen  the  pictures  Mr.  Brisbane 
has  of  a  phalanstery  and  its  domain  in  full  har- 
mony. They  are  magnificent  in  design,  and  give 
one  a  pretty  clear  glance,  at  least,  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  that  is  to  come  on  earth.  Mr.  Brisbane 
and  Mr.  Macdaniel  are  still  here.  I  like  them  very 
much.  We  have  had  some  very  pleasant  social  re- 
unions, some  walks  and  glorious  coasts." 

The  great  building,  or  Phalanstery,  begun  in  the 
summer  of  1844,  in  which  the  Fourierite  idea  of 
communal  life  was  to  find  full  expression,  was  burned 
on  the  evening  of  March  3,  1846.  The  next  day 
Marianne  Dwight  wrote  to  one  of  her  friends  an 
account  of  the  fire,  which  is  of  much  interest  as 
showing  the  attitude  of  the  people  toward  this 
calamity.     The  account  shows  the  spiritual  earnest- 


96  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

ness  and  the  moral  devotion  which  Brook  Farm 
developed  in  its  members  to  a  large  extent. 

"  I  must,  with  what  poor  words  I  can,  attempt  to 
put  you  in  possession  of  the  particulars  about  the 
burning  of  our  Phalanstery.  The  council  had  just 
appointed  a  committee  to  superintend  the  finishing 
of  the  Phalanstery,  and  had  dispersed,  when  Mr. 
Salisbury,  passing  the  building,  saw  a  light  in  the 
upper  part,  and  put  his  head  into  a  window  to  learn 
the  cause  thereof.  Men  had  been  at  work  there  all 
day,  and  a  fire  kept  in  a  stove.  He  found  the  room 
full  of  smoke,  and  ran  instantly  to  the  Eyrie  and 
told  Mr.  Ripley,  who  was  the  first  on  the  spot. 

"  Then  came  the  sudden,  earnest  cry,  '  Fire !  the 
Phalanstery ! '  that  startled  us  all,  and  for  a  moment 
made  every  face  pale  with  consternation.  I  was 
in  my  room,  and  ran  to  the  front  of  the  house. 
Flames  were  issuing  from  one  of  the  remote  win- 
dows, and  spreading  rapidly.  It  was  at  once  evi- 
dent that  nothing  could  be  done.  It  seemed  but 
five  minutes  when  the  flames  had  spread  from  end 
to  end.  Men  ran  in  every  direction,  making  almost 
fruitless  attempts  to  save  windows  and  timber.  The 
greatest  exertions  were  made  to  save  the  Eyrie, 
which  at  one  time  was  too  hot  to  bear  the  hand, 
and  even  smoked.  Our  neighbor  Mr.  Orange  went 
first  on  the  roof,  and  worked  like  a  hero,  and  not 
in  vain. 

"Would  I  could  convey  to  you  an  idea  of  the 
scene !  It  was  glorious  beyond  description.  How 
grand  when  the  immense  heavy  column  of  smoke 


BROOK  FARM  97 

first  rose  up  to  heaven  !  There  was  no  wind,  and  it 
ascended  almost  perpendicularly.  I  looked  upon  it 
from  our  house  until  the  whole  front  was  on  fire: 
that  was  beautiful,  indeed.  The  whole  colonnade 
was  wreathed  spirally  with  fire,  and  every  window 
glowing.  I  was  calm,  felt  that  it  was  the  work  of 
heaven,  and  was  good ;  and  not  for  one  instant  did 
I  feel  otherwise.  Then  I  threw  on  my  cloak,  and 
rushed  out  to  mingle  with  the  people.  All  were 
still,  calm,  resolute,  undaunted.  The  expression 
on  every  face  seemed  to  me  sublime.  There  was 
a  solemn,  serious,  reverential  feeling,  such  as  must 
come  when  we  are  forced  to  feel  that  human  aid  is 
of  no  avail,  and  that  a  higher  hand  than  man's  is  at 
work.  I  heard  solemn  words  of  trust,  cheerful 
words  of  encouragement,  resignation,  gratitude, 
and  thankfulness,  but  not  one  of  terror  or  despair. 
All  were  absorbed  in  the  glory  and  sublimity  of  the 
scene. 

"  In  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half  the  whole  was 
levelled  to  the  ground.  The  Phalanstery  was  fin- 
ished. Not  the  building  alone,  but  the  scenery 
around  was  grand.  As  it  was  to  be,  I  would  not 
have  missed  it  for  the  world.  I  assure  you  the 
moral  sublimity  with  which  the  people  took  it  was 
not  the  least  part  of  it.  The  good  Archon  [Rip- 
ley] was  like  an  angel.  Mrs.  Ripley  alone  was  for 
half  an  hour  too  much  overcome  to  look  upon  it. 

"  People  rushed  here  from  Roxbury,  Dedham, 
Boston,  and  Cambridgeport.  Engines  could  not 
help   us    much.     There    was   such    a   rush   of  the 


98  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

world's  people  to  the  Hive.  We  gave  them  what 
we  could, —  made  hot  coffee,  brought  out  bread  and 
cheese,  and  feasted  about  two  hundred  of  the 
fatigued,  hungry  multitude.  Mr.  Orange  brought 
us  provisions  from  his  house,  and  ran  through  the 
street  for  milk.  About  midnight  I  wrote  letters  to 
Orvis  and  Allen,  for  I  thought  they  would  be  in 
agony. for  us  if  they  did  not  get  their  first  intelli- 
gence directly  from  home.  I  had  one  short  sound 
sleep,  and  was  up  early,  writing  to  Frank.  I  looked 
at  the  bare  hill  this  morning,  I  must  say,  with  a 
feeling  of  relief.     There  was  an  encumbrance  gone. 

"  Heaven  had  interfered  to  prevent  us  from  fin- 
ishing that  building  so  foolishly  undertaken,  so 
poorly  planned  and  built,  and  which  again  and 
again  some  of  us  have  thought  and  said  we  should 
rejoice  to  see  blown  away  or  burned  down.  It  has 
gone  suddenly,  gloriously,  magnificently;  and  we 
shall  have  no  further  trouble  with  it.  Just  what 
the  effect  will  be  to  us,  it  is  impossible  now  to  tell. 
The  contract  was  lately  given  into  our  own  hands ; 
and,  I  suppose,  ours  must  be  the  loss.  About 
$7,000  had  been  spent  on  it.  We  must  take  deep 
to  heart  a  good  lesson.  We  have  been  through 
about  every  other  trial :  now  we  have  been  through 
the  fire.  We  needed  this  experience,  and  I  pray 
we  may  come  from  it  like  pure  gold.  It  leaves  us 
no  worse  off  than  before  we  began  it,  and,  in  some 
respects,  better.  May  Heaven  bless  to  us  the 
event ! 

"  I  feared  it  would  look  ugly,  dismal,  and  smutty 


BROOK  FARM  99 

this  morning ;  but  the  ruins  are  really  picturesque. 
A  part  of  the  stone  foundation  stands  like  a  row  of 
gravestones,  the  tomb  of  the  Phalanstery.  Thank 
God,  not  the  tomb  of  our  hopes !  Charles  Dana 
returned  from  New  York  an  hour  since,  and,  I  am 
happy  to  say,  takes  it  as  cheerfully  as  the  rest  of 
us.  We  breakfasted  an  hour  later  than  usual  to- 
day, and  our  hired  carpenters  have  gone  back  to 
Dedham.  I  see  no  other  change.  The  day  is 
calm  and  beautiful.  All  goes  on  as  usual.  We 
look  toward  the  hill,  and  all  seems  like  a  strange 
dream.  You  cannot  think  how  it  struck  me  last 
night  towards  the  close  of  the  fireworks,  when,  after 
watching  the  constantly  rolling  flames  for  two 
hours,  I  looked  up  to  the  sky,  and  saw  Orion  look- 
ing down  so  steadily,  so  calmly,  reminding  me  of 
the  unchanging  and  eternal." 

Two  letters  written  by  the  same  hand,  one  in 
March  and  one  in  April,  only  a  few  weeks  after  the 
fire,  give  farther  proofs  of  the  courage  and  moral 
earnestness  and  loyalty  of  the  people  who  then 
made  up  the  Brook  Farm  community. 

"  Last  evening,"  she  wrote,  "  we  had  a  new 
flowering  of  the  tree  of  life  that  seems  to  have 
taken  such  deep  root  in  this  spot,  in  spite  of  the 
soil.  Our  friend  and  associate,  W.  H.  Cheswell, 
wishing  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  his  arrival 
at  this  Eden,  invited  everybody  to  attend  his  regu- 
lar dancing  school.  I  felt  very  unlike  it,  had  been 
almost  ill  with  the  headache  all  day ;  but,  as  friend 
Cheswell  has  always  looked  with  a  jealous  eye  upon 


ioo  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

the  aristocratic  element,  John  thought  it  would  be 
best  to  go,  and  persuaded  me  into  it.  And  right 
glad  we  are  that  we  went.  The  dancing  went  off 
in  fine  style :  it  could  not  have  been  better.  About 
ten  o'clock,  two  by  two,  we  were  all  marched  out  of 
the  dining-hall  into  the  parlors,  to  await  the  setting 
of  the  table.  When  notice  was  given,  each  gentle- 
man took  his  lady,  and  we  marched  back  again, 
and  seated  ourselves  at  the  table,  which  extended 
through  the  centre  of  the  room  from  end  to  end, 
and  offered  us  the  tempting  luxuries  of  hot  coffee, 
cake,  crackers,  and  cheese.  After  partaking  of 
these  dainties,  Charles  Dana  rose,  and  announced 
that  he  would  read  the  toasts  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion.  They  were  very  excellent, 
and  some  of  them  not  a  little  amusing.  The  differ- 
ent groups  were  toasted,  from  the  printing  group  to 
the  plain  sewers,  and  individuals  called  upon  for 
speeches.  These  were  ready  and  admirable.  We 
had  fun  and  wit,  poetry  and  sober  good  sense, 
earnestness  and  solemnity.  There  was  a  new  con- 
secrating of  each  and  all  to  our  work  here  at  Brook 
Farm, —  a  pledging  of  the  groups  to  faithful,  de- 
voted, needful  action,  and  the  very  heartiest  expres- 
sion of  hope,  faith,  and  union. 

11  The  one  discordant  note  that  has  sounded  in 
our  ears  lately  came  round  into  harmony ;  and 
thunders  of  applause  burst  forth  as  Charles  Dana, 
with  recovered  strength  and  energy,  expressed  his 
deep  faith  that  the  cause  of  association  and  its 
work  must  and  would  be  carried  on  to  some  extent 


BROOK    FARM  101 

here  at  Brook  Farm.  The  Archon,  unluckily,  was 
not  present,  and  says  he  wants  to  have  it  over 
again.  It  was  such  a  meeting  as  never  happens 
but  once.  Charles  Dana  and  John  Orvis  were 
the  only  persons  present  of  our  usual  speakers. 
Indeed,  it  was  all  the  better  for  that ;  for  there  was 
no  restraint.  Anybody  could  get  up,  and,  in  his 
way,  say  the  good  word ;  and  I  do  say  it  was  one 
of  the  very  best  parties  I  ever  attended.  Do  tell 
Mr.  Channing,  if  you  see  him,  that  I  would  have 
given  the  world  to  have  had  him  present,  or  per- 
haps behind  the  scenes.  It  would  have  done  his 
heart  so  much  good  to  have  seen  this  new  develop- 
ment of  the  good  spirit  that  is  working  in  us  and 
binding  us  together  in  strength.  In  truth,  we  are 
a  Phalanx." 

11  We  are  now  starting  in  what  appears  a  com- 
mon-sense way,"  she  wrote  a  month  later.  "  We 
have  reduced  our  plans  somewhat,  but  I  trust  a 
higher  ideal  is  before  us  than  ever.  One  thing  is 
certainly  very  encouraging,  and  to  me  it  is  really 
providential.  How  is  it  that  the  people  who  are 
not  calculated  to  help  us,  who,  though  good  in  their 
way,  yet  lack  that  refinement  which  is  indispensable 
to  give  a  good  tone  to  the  place,  do  actually  with- 
draw in  the  pleasantest  manner,  wholly  unasked, 
and  without  any  chance  of  feeling  that  their  with- 
drawal is  desirable  to  us  ?  I  cannot  call  it  chance. 
God  wills  it.  God  means  something  by  it.  We 
have  lately  felt  it  really  necessary  that  certain 
people  should  leave.     We  have  not  known  how  to 


102  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

bring  it  about.  Well,  all  at  once  comes  a  call 
to  them,  a  better  prospect  opens  to  them  outside. 
In  these  changes  there  is  something  trying  to  our 
feelings,  but  they  are  well.  We  are  thankful  that 
they  have  come  about  so  pleasantly.  Those  of  us 
left  are  capable  of  improving  by  living  together, 
and  feel  very  closely  drawn  together.  We  feel  our 
brotherhood  with  those  who  have  gone,  but  it 
always  seemed  to  me  a  great  mistake  to  admit 
coarse  people  upon  the  place.  Now  we  need  not 
fear  subjecting  our  pupils  to  evil  influences  from 
such  quarters.  Indeed,  I  see  not  why  we  cannot 
now  offer  as  good  or  better  moral  influences  than 
could  be  found  at  any  other  boarding-school. 

"  My  interest  now  must  centre  in  the  school.  I 
do  know  what  a  good  school  is.  I  know  well  why 
we  have  not  had  a  good  one  here,  and  I  see  clearly 
that  we  can  easily  have  the  very  best.  I  am  sol- 
emnly determined  to  use  my  utmost  efforts  to  bring 
it  about.  I  have  offered  myself  to  the  work,  have 
just  been  elected  chief  of  the  teachers'  group,  which 
gives  me,  together  with  Mrs.  Ripley  (chief  of  the 
educational  series),  and,  indeed,  more  than  she,  the 
superintendence  of  the  school.  Her  health  requires 
that  I  should  give  her  this  relief ;  and  I  enter  upon 
the  duties  with  alacrity  and  cheerfulness,  with  dif- 
fidence, to  be  sure,  and  yet  with  confidence.  Think 
what  aid  I  can  command, —  the  Ripleys,  Charles 
Dana,  John  S.  Dwight,  Fanny,  Miss  Russell,  etc. 

"  The  change  we  make  in  our  organization  will 
secure  to  each   group  greater   independence    than 


BROOK  FARM  103 

before.  Each  will  transact  its  own  business,  make 
its  own  sales  and  purchases.  We  need  money  to 
invest  in  some  departments,  and  for  this  purpose 
a  subscription  is  now  going  on.  We  feel  that  we 
have  a  right  to  call  upon  citizens  to  help  us  with 
their  money  to  accomplish  what  we  can  toward 
building  up  a  true  system  of  life." 

One  effect  of  the  change  made  in  the  internal 
organization  was  the  establishment  of  a  printing- 
office  at  Brook  Farm,  and  the  publication  of  a 
weekly  sixteen-page,  three-columned  paper  called 
the  Harbinger,  It  was  devoted  to  the  interests 
which  Brook  Farm  represented;  but  it  had  wide 
sympathies,  and  was  not  in  any  sense  partisan. 
A  tone  of  intellectual  earnestness  pervaded  the 
whole  paper,  its  literary  character  was  of  the  best, 
and  a  spirit  of  cultured  manliness  infused  itself  into 
every  page.  Into  the  Harbinger  went  a  good  part 
of  the  best  life  of  John  S.  Dwight  for  the  next  three 
years.  He  wrote  much  for  it,  and  he  was  actively 
connected  with  its  literary  management.  A  few 
letters  will  indicate  something  of  the  nature  of  his 
editorial  labors.  When  the  paper  was  being  planned, 
he  wrote  to  Emerson  for  aid;  and  the  reply  is 
characteristic. 

"Your  letter  was  very  kind  and  friendly,"  Emer- 
son wrote,  "  and  one  is  always  glad  that  anything  is 
adventured  in  the  midst  of  so  much  excusing  and 
impediment ;  and  yet,  though  I  should  heartily  re- 
joice to  aid  in  an  uncommitted  journal, —  not  limited 
by  the  name  of  any  man, —  I  will  not  promise  a  line 


104  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

to  any  which  has  chosen  a  patron.  We  shall  never 
do  anything  if  we  begin  with  being  somebody  else. 
Then,  though  I  admire  the  genius  of  Fourier,  since 
I  have  looked  a  little  into  his  books,  yet  it  is  only 
for  his  marvellous  tactics.  He  is  another  French 
soldier  or  rather  mathematician,  such  as  France 
is  always  turning  out;  and  they  apply  their 
wonderful  ciphering  indifferently  to  astronomy, 
chemistry,  war,  or  politics.  But  they  are  a  sub-type, 
as  modern  science  now  says,  deficient  in  the  first 
faculty,  and  therefore  should  never  be  allowed  the 
lead  in  grand  enterprises,  but  may  very  well  serve 
as  subordinate  coadjutors,  where  their  power  as 
economists  will  stand  in  good  stead.  It  seems 
sadly  true  that  the  scholars  and  philosophers,  and 
I  might  say  also  the  honest  and  well-disposed  part 
of  society,  have  no  literary  organ  or  voice  which  is 
not  desperately  sectarian ;  and  we  are  always  im- 
pelled towards  organization  by  the  fear  that  our  little 
power  will  become  less.  But,  if  things  come  to  a 
still  worse  pass,  indignation  will  perhaps  summon 
a  deeper-voiced  and  wiser  muse  than  our  cool  New 
England  has  ever  listened  to.  I  am  sure  she  will 
be  native,  and  no  immigrant,  least  of  all  will  she 
speak  French.  But  she  will,  I  doubt  not,  have 
many  wreaths  of  honor  to  bestow  on  you  and  your 
friends  at  Brook  Farm ;  for  courage  and  hope  and 
real  performance,  God  and  man  and  muses  love. 

"  You  see  how  little  and  how  much  faith  I  have. 
As  far  as  your  journal  is  sectarian,  I  shall  respect  it 
at  a  distance.     If  it  should  become  catholic,  I  shall 


BROOK    FARM  105 

be  found  suing  for  a  place  in  it.  Respectfully  and 
affectionately  yours." 

He  had  better  success  with  Lowell,  who  not  only 
sent  a  poem,  but  wrote  of  efforts  to  serve  his  friend 
in  other  ways  :  — 

"  Leigh  Hunt,  in  one  of  his  pleasant  essays,  says 
that  he  often  pleased  himself  while  he  wrote  with 
thinking  that  this  or  that  thought  or  expression 
would  please  some  one  in  particular  of  his  friends. 
In  writing  the  poem  which  I  send  for  the  Har- 
binger, I  said  to  myself,  J.  S.  D.  will  like  this,  and 
so  I  send  it.  The  images  are  perhaps  a  little  too 
bold  for  our  close-clipped  American  public,  who, 
nevertheless,  would  be  willing  to  sit  quietly  once 
a  week  under  the  reading  of  the  book  of  Job,  think- 
ing all  the  while  that  for  inspiration  it  compares 
unfavorably  with  Pope.  But  I  have  a  notion  that 
it  will  be  very  much  to  your  mind.  Maria,  who  is 
my  public,  likes  it ;  but  do  not  print  it  unless  you 
do.  Please  see  to  the  proof-sheets, —  for  I  have 
been  martyred  several  times  that  way, — and  do  not 
let  your  compositor  make  lumberer  into  slumberer, 
as,  from  my  knowledge  of  the  compositor  turn  of 
mind,  I  am  sure  he  will  be  desirous  to  do.  Do  you 
think  finned  isles  too  outrageous  an  expression  for 
innocent  whales?  You  remember  how  they  thrust 
their  hilly  backs  above  the  water  and  lie  asleep,  and 
Sinbad's  adventure  also. 

"  I  carried  your  sister's  drawings  to  Dr.  Gray,  but 
found  that  he  keeps  an  artist.  He  did  not  at  all 
appreciate  them,  looking  at  them   (though    I    told 


106  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

him  over  and  over  that  they  were  not  drawn  for 
scientific  purposes)  with  the  eye  of  an  anatomist, 
counting  the  pistils  and  stamens,  and  wholly  in- 
capable of  perceiving  their  wonderful  dramatic  pro- 
priety (I  know  no  other  term  for  it),  which  quite 
shamed  his  scientific  artist's  productions.  How- 
ever, he  was  Gray-cious  enough  to  say  that,  with  a 
little  botanical  study,  your  sister  would  do  exceed- 
ingly well,  and  that,  if  he  lost  his  '  artist,'  of  which 
he  had  some  fears,  he  should  be  glad  to  employ  her 
pencil.  It  was  a  furnace-hot  day  when  I  carried 
them  down,  and  I  was  drenched  with  sweat  enough 
to  have  earned  my  bread  for  life  (if  the  terms  of  the 
Adamic  curse  could  be  strictly  complied  with) ;  and 
Dr.  Gray  looked  so  cool  and  clean,  and  so  insensible 
to  my  pictures  (for  I  had  made  them  mine  by  the 
interest  I  felt  in  them),  that  I  went  away  provoked 
to  even  greater  heat.  Nevertheless,  Dr.  Gray  is 
one  of  the  best  men  I  know, —  the  ideal  of  a  profes- 
sor,—  simple-hearted,  and  an  enthusiast  for  his 
science.  It  is  not  his  fault  that  Providence  did  not 
give  him  a  poetic  eye. 

"  Duyckinck  writes  me  doubtfully  about  the 
essays.  He  says  he  likes  very  much  those  he  has 
seen,  but  doubts  their  salableness,  especially  as 
some  of  them  have  been  printed  once.  As  he  him- 
self knows  nothing  whatever  of  music,  I  think  his 
liking  is  an  equally  strong  argument  for  their  sale. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  send  him  such  as  you 
can.  He  is  only  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  but  I 
spoke  of  them  as  warmly  as  I  could  without  injur- 


BROOK    FARM 


107 


ing  them   in   his    man-of-the-world    opinion  by   too 
great  anxiety. 

"  If  you  print  my  poem  and  have  two  numbers 
to  spare,  send  them  to  me.  Do  not  forget  your 
engagement  to  visit  us  at  Commencement.  I  began 
a  review  of  Lord's  poems  for  you,  which  I  will  fin- 
ish and  send  to  you.     The  heat  cut  me  short  in  it." 

The  poem  was  printed  in  the  Harbinger  for 
Aug.  2,  1845,  under  the  title  of  "To  a  Pine-tree," 
and  may  be  found  in  Lowell's  poetical  works  with 
a  few  emendations. 

Dwight  was  a  constant  contributor  to  the  pages 
of  the  Harbinger  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
publication  at  Brook  Farm.  He  wrote  for  it  edi- 
torials on  association,  music,  and  literary  topics,  he 
reviewed  many  books,  and  he  sometimes  contrib- 
uted poems.  He  also  translated  several  works  from 
the  French  of  Fourier,  Victor  Considerant,  and 
other  associationist  writers.  During  the  progress 
of  the  third  volume  he  became  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  editorial  management  of  the  paper. 
He  assumed  with  Ripley  the  responsibility  of  con- 
ducting it,  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  its 
management.  In  this  volume,  appeals  were  made 
in  behalf  of  the  paper ;  and  a  guarantee  fund  was 
raised  among  the  friends  of  association.  Before  the 
end  of  the  fourth  volume  the  paper  became  dis- 
tinctly the  organ  of  the  American  Union  of  Asso- 
ciationists,  which  organization  assumed  its  control 
and  the  financial  responsibility  of  its  publication. 
At  this  time  Ripley  and  Dwight  were  elected  the 


108  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

editors,  and  the  sum  of  five  dollars  each  per  week 
was  voted  them  by  the  Union. 

In  the  first  number  of  the  Harbinger \  D wight  re- 
viewed the  musical  defects  of  this  country  in  the 
past,  maintained  that  the  new  social  spirit  gave  the 
highest  promise  for  musical  development  in  the 
future ;  and  he  set  forth  his  purpose  to  devote  a 
portion  of  the  Harbinger  to  the  furtherance  of  mu- 
sical taste  and  knowledge.  "  We  wish,"  he  wrote, 
"  to  consider  music  as  one  of  the  expressions  and 
as  one  of  the  inspiring  causes  of  the  restless  but 
prophetic  spirit  of  these  times.  Of  course,  then, 
we  shall  not  say  much  of  mere  musical  trifles.  It 
shall  be  our  business  constantly  to  notice  and  up- 
hold for  study  and  for  imitation  music  which  is 
deep  and  earnest ;  which  does  not  merely  seek  to 
amuse,  but  which  is  the  most  enlightened  outpour- 
ing of  the  composer's  life.  .  .  .  Three  things  we 
shall  have  in  view:  (i)  the  criticism  of  music  as  an 
art;  (2)  the  interpretation  of  it  as  an  expression  of 
the  life  of  the  age ;  and  (3)  the  development  of  its 
correspondence  as  a  science  with  other  sciences, 
and  especially  with  the  science  of  the  coming  so- 
cial order  and  the  transition  through  which  we  are 
passing  towards  it." 

This  programme  was  carried  out  with  earnest- 
ness and  success,  and  the  Harbinger  became  one 
of  the  best  musical  journals  the  country  has  ever 
possessed.  The  criticisms  were  strong  and  effec- 
tive ;  and  the  interpretative  articles  were  in  good 
literary  form,  incisive  with  keen  artistic  insight,  and 


BROOK   FARM  109 

adapted  to  give  the  art  real  meaning  as  a  source  of 
culture. 

In  October,  1847,  the  Harbinger  came  to  an  end 
at  Brook  Farm,  and  was  transferred  to  New  York, 
where  it  appeared  in  a  new  form,  but  with  much 
the  same  spirit.  Dwight  continued  his  connection 
with  it  as  one  of  the  Boston  editorial  contributors, 
the  other  being  W.  H.  Channing.  To  the  seventh 
volume  he  made  thirty-seven  contributions,  includ- 
ing a  translation  from  the  columns  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Pacifique,  the  Fourierite  daily  journal  of 
Paris,  of  a  work  of  Victor  Considerant  on  "  Har- 
mony." He  wrote  on  music  in  Boston,  three  ar- 
ticles on  "  What  made  you  an  Associationist  ?  "  two 
on  a  plan  for  an  associative  dwelling,  one  on  the 
associative  theory  of  property,  and  several  literary 
reviews.  As  an  indication  of  the  literary  judgment, 
appreciation,  and  skill  with  which  Dwight  dealt 
with  the  books  which  he  reviewed,  a  letter  from 
Longfellow,  bearing  the  date  of  Dec.  10,  1847,  may 
here  be  presented  :  — 

"  I  should  have  written  sooner,"  said  the  poet, 
11  to  thank  you  for  your  most  friendly  and  cordial 
notice  of  '  Evangeline '  in  the  Harbinger ;  but  by 
some  adverse  fate  I  could  not  get  a  copy  of  the 
paper  till  some  ten  or  fifteen  days  after  its  publica- 
tion. It  would  hardly  be  modest  in  me  to  tell  you 
how  much  satisfaction  it  gave  me ;  but,  setting 
modesty  aside,  I  thank  you  for  it  very  heartily,  and 
this  rather  for  the  sympathy  than  the  praise. 
There  are  so  many  persons  who  rush  forward  in 


no  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

front  of  one,  and,  seizing  one's  Pegasus  by  the  rein, 
give  him  such  a  jerk  as  to  make  his  mouth  bleed, 
that  I  always  feel  grateful  to  any  one  who  is  willing 
to  go  a  few  paces  side  by  side  with  me.  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  what  a  writer  asks  of 
a  reader  is  not  so  much  to  like  as  to  listen.  You  I 
have  to  thank  for  both ;  and,  I  assure  you,  I  have 
seldom,  if  ever,  read  a  notice  of  any  work  of  mine 
which  gave  me  so  much  pleasure  as  yours  of 
1  Evangeline.' " 

In  its  new  form  and  place  of  publication,  at  first 
the  Harbinger  gave  promise  of  success ;  and  it  was 
proposed  that  Dwight  should  go  to  New  York  and 
devote  his  time  wholly  to  its  pages.  To  this  effect 
is  a  letter  to  him  from  Parke  Godwin,  which  also 
shows  Dwight's  continued  interest  in  association. 
"Ripley  informs  me,'  wrote  Godwin,  "that  you 
hesitate  about  coming  on  to  the  meeting  of  the 
American  Union  of  Associationists ;  but  I  hope 
you  will  be  enabled  to  do  so.  We  want  to  see  you 
much.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  talk  about,  espe- 
cially in  reference  to  the  Harbinger.  It  is  an 
important  time  in  other  respects.  Come  by  all 
means !  Besides,  we  want  a  word  from  you  touch- 
ing your  Opera  here.  You  will  see  the  artistic  de- 
partment here  is  wofully  neglected.  We  have  no 
one  to  do  the  work,  yet  it  is  indispensable  that 
something  should  be  done.  Would  that  you  could 
be  with  us  permanently,  or  at  least  a  part  of  the 
time !  With  your  co-operation  here,  we  should  be 
able  to  make  the  best  paper  in  the  United  States. 


BROOK  FARM  in 

As  it  is,  I  know  of  none  better,  me  judice  ;  but,  with 
a  few  modifications  and  improvements,  everybody 
else  would  be  made  to  know  the  same  thing,  which 
is  of  more  consequence  to  our  success.  By  the 
way,  what  has  become  of  the  Boston  editor?  or 
does  he  mean  to  write  only  once  in  six  weeks  ? 
Please  stir  him  up.  The  Harbinger  has  done  very 
well  in  its  pecuniary  receipts  the  last  month. 
Tweedy,  who  has  an  eye  for  business,  is  quite  en- 
couraged. I  see  no  reason  why  we  cannot  make 
the  paper  pay  for  itself;  i.e.,  with  a  little  industry  and 
enterprise.  I  think  it  can  still  be  greatly  improved 
in  the  arrangement  and  character  of  its  matter,  all 
of  which  we  shall  try  for,  hard." 

We  must  now  return  to  the  period  immediately 
following  the  burning  of  the  Phalanstery  at  Brook 
Farm.  Dwight  went  to  New  York  a  few  days 
later,  to  give  a  course  of  four  lectures  on  music. 
During  his  stay  in  that  city  he  was  domiciled  with 
his  old  friend  and  classmate,  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bel- 
lows. The  fire  gave  another  purpose  to  his  visit 
than  that  of  musical  propagandism,  and  he  made 
the  interests  of  Brook  Farm  and  association  an 
almost  constant  topic  of  discussion  among  his 
friends.  He  wrote  to  George  Ripley  of  his  efforts 
in  behalf  of  Brook  Farm,  especially. 

"  My  days  are  crowded  full ;  and  I  get  little  time 
for  writing,  even  on  my  lectures.  At  the  first  lect- 
ure there  were  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  per- 
sons present,  some  of  the  subscribers  failing  on  ac- 
count of  short  notice  and  other  accidental  reasons. 


H2  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

The  impression  was  far  better  than  I  had  hoped. 
I  believe  it  gave  universal  satisfaction  to  those  who 
heard,  although  I  extemporized  association  at  the 
end  of  it.  Dr.  Dewey  was  highly  delighted,  and 
has  paid  me  much  attention.  On  Saturday  the 
weather  was  so  unpromising  I  was  advised  to  post- 
pone. By  this  I  gained  time  to  see  our  associa- 
tion friends.  I  had  quite  a  talk  with  Greeley.  He 
wrote  upon  the  paper  which  I  took  with  me,  '  I 
give  up  all  my  stock  unconditionally,  and  will  sub- 
scribe, besides,  the  first  $100  I  get  which  does  not 
belong  to  somebody  else.'  Marcus  Spring  gives 
up  his,  and  expresses  a  wish  to  subscribe  some- 
thing. He  says  that  he  has  got  something  which 
he  is  holding  in  reserve  to  aid  this  cause ;  but  he 
fears  that  Brook  Farm,  in  its  present  locality,  can- 
not do  much.  I  convinced  him,  I  think,  that  it  is 
indispensable  for  us  to  go  on,  and  to  go  on  where 
we  are  for  some  years  more,  at  least.  He  says  he 
will  aid,  but  he  does  not  wish  to  encourage  any 
large  expenditure  on  our  present  operations.  He 
believes  that  we  Brook  Farmers  are  the  real  and 
only  nucleus  of  the  association  to  be  first  realized 
in  this  country. 

"  I  met  him  again  at  Miss  Lynch's  party  in  the 
evening,  and  had  more  talk.  The  result  was  to  in- 
vite me  over  to  Brooklyn  last  night  (Sunday)  to 
meet  the  Christian  Union  people.  So,  after  hold- 
ing private  matins  with  Fred  Rackemann,  who 
opened  to  me  the  gospels  according  to  Beethoven, 
Mendelssohn,  and  other  minor  prophets,  and  after 


BROOK  FARM  113 

dining  with  George  Curtis,  and  attending  '  Ves- 
pers '  at  the  Catholic  church,  and  walking  six  or 
seven  miles,  I  (with  Cranch)  arrived  at  Marcus 
Spring's,  and  took  tea  and  had  music.  Then  we 
adjourned  to  Mr.  Manning's,  where  some  thirty 
people  were  assembled.  I  held  forth  for  the  whole 
evening  on  the  history  and  condition  and  prospects 
of  Brook  Farm,  answering  everybody's  questions, 
and  going  very  fully  into  the  matter.  I  told  the 
strict  truth,  and  found  that  to  most  people  it  was 
not  near  so  bad  as  they  had  expected.  Every  one 
seemed  deeply  interested,  and  anxious  that  Brook 
Farm  should  go  on. 

"  Mr.  Hicks  relinquishes  his  stock.  Mr.  Mann- 
ing gives  his  to  Channing,  to  dispose  of  as  he 
pleases.  Mr.  Hunt  is  willing  to  do  anything ;  and 
Mr.  Benson,  of  his  own  accord,  said  that  some  ef- 
fort must  be  made  in  New  York  to  help  out  the 
subscription  in  Boston.  Tweedy  seems  deeply  in- 
terested, and  is  more  and  more  a  Fourierist,  having 
attained  to  it  by  much*  the  same  internal  process 
that  I  did.  He  is  a  man  much  after  my  own 
heart.  You  may  consider  the  whole  of  the  stock 
held  in  New  York  as  cancelled.  As  soon  as  a  clear 
plan  shapes  itself  on  our  part,  there  will  be  some- 
thing done  here. 

"  I  talk  association  everywhere.  Everybody 
questions  me,  and  I  have  removed  prejudices  from 
a  good  many  minds.  With  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bellows  I 
have  talked  hours  and  hours, —  in  fact,  all  the  time, 
—  and  think  they  entertain  the  idea   rather  more 


ii4  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

willingly.  Of  gastrosophic  adventures  I  have  too 
much  to  tell :  that  shall  be  for  Brook  Farm  even- 
ing chats.  Parties,  music,  dinings  out  and  in,  and 
hosts  of  visitors,  besides  the  tremendously  long 
walks,  and  hitherto  unfortunate  attempts  to  write 
on  my  last  lectures,  crowd  my  days  to  the  fullest. 
Every  day  I  am  belated,  run  away  with,  lost,  and 
wearied.  But  I  can  stand  it  some  time  longer ;  and 
it  is  wholly  profitable,  I  think.  I  have  had  real 
pleasure  in  Dr.  Dixon  and  lady,  and  mellifluous 
Rev.  Mr.  Hart ;  so,  too,  in  Kempel,  who  is  extrava- 
gantly delighted  with  my  lecture.  Had  a  beauti- 
ful evening  also  at  Godwin's,  where  were  Miss  Sin- 
clair, Margaret  Fuller,  Mrs.  Kirkland,  Dewey  and 
daughter,  etc." 

To  one  of  his  sisters  he  wrote :  "  My  lectures  in 
one  sense  were  very  successful ;  that  is,  they  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression,  and  were  even  received 
with  enthusiasm.  But,  pecuniarily,  the  result  will 
not  be  what  I  expected.  I  shall  hardly  realize  over 
one  hundred  dollars  instead  of  two.  This  is  owing 
to  the  great  expense  of  hall  and  advertising.  The 
audience  doubled  on  the  second  night,  and  shrank 
a  little  after  that.  It  was  owing  partly  to  the  in- 
ertia of  my  enthusiastic  friends  about  noticing  in 
the  newspapers.  But  it  will  be  a  fine  opening,  I 
think,  for  another  time.  More  of  this  when  I  get 
home. 

"  I  have  had  a  wonderfully  fine  time,  socially. 
William  Story  and  a  party  of  friends  from  Boston 
have  been  here  some  days.     We  all,  with  Cranch 


BROOK  FARM  115 

and  his  wife,  were  at  Mrs.  Child's  on  Sunday 
evening.  Mrs.  Child's  enthusiasm  about  my  lect- 
ures is  unbounded.  She  presented  me  a  beauti- 
ful bouquet  at  the  close  of  the  last,  and  says  they 
have  given  her  the  only  fresh  feeling  of  interest 
since  Ole  Bull.  On  the  subject  of  that  gentleman 
we  frankly  differ,  but  she  tolerates  my  heresy." 

"  And  so  my  estimate  of  your  lectures  was  not 
one  of  my  exaggerations,  after  all !  "  wrote  Mrs. 
George  Ripley  to  Dwight.  "  Tributes  to  the  merits 
of  the  first  one  are  coming  in  upon  us ;  and  yet  I 
cannot  think  the  audience,  unaccustomed  to  your 
mode  of  expression,  to  your  somewhat  associative 
dialect,  can  have  gone  into  the  depths  of  the 
thought.  I  feel  as  if  a  repetition  of  them  would 
be  demanded,  and  am  trying  to  get  used  to  the 
thought  of  a  slightly  prolonged  absence  on  your 
part.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  group  in  the 
reading-room  last  evening  after  supper,  the  tall 
ones  stooping  over  and  the  short  ones  standing 
tiptoe  to  read  the  notice  of  you  in  the  Tribune. 
Can  I  tell  you  the  pleasure  with  which  your  letter 
was  received  ?  Your  description  of  the  luxuries  of 
civilization  seemed  very  like  a  story  I  once  read  of 
Aladdin's  wonderful  lamp,  and  your  deep  sense  of 
the  more  abundant  wealth  to  be  found  in  the  cir- 
cle of  pure  Phalansterians  was  most  cordially  re- 
sponded to.  What  a  rich  and  varied  life  you  are 
at  once  drawn  into  !  and,  in  the  midst  of  it  you 
find  your  home  circle  of  every-day  Brook  Farm 
friends.  You  have  an  unusually  grand  standpoint 
from  which  to  speak  to  the  public. 


n6  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  Thank  you  for  Mr.  King's  letter.  That  little 
sentence  in  which  he  speaks  of  our  loss  as  bringing 
us  again  into  harmony  with  universal  laws  is  worth 
all  he  has  written  for  months.  How  true,  too,  that 
we  can  see  a  Providential  guidance  in  our  all  being 
led  back  to  our  primitive  occupations,  and  hav- 
ing somewhat  collected  our  scattered  forces  and 
brought  them  to  bear  on  definite  objects  of  real 
value,  before  we  were  thrown  into  dismay  by  our 
calamity!  We  had  in  some  sort,  and  almost  un- 
consciously, planned  our  new  mode  of  life  before 
we  were  burned  out  of  the  old  one. 

"  We  earnestly  wish  for  you  back  at  every 
moment  and  every  turn ;  and  yet,  surely,  this  is  a 
better  time  for  your  absence  than  later.  Everything 
now  is  preliminary.  The  general  council  meets 
every  night.  They  have  been  reviewing  all  depart- 
ments, looking  over  accounts,  etc.,  I  think  all 
minds  tending  towards  the  decision  that  it  will  be 
best  to  give  up  our  property  and  begin  anew  (this, 
of  course,  entirely  private),  let  school,  paper,  paint- 
ing and  domestic  industry  necessarily  connected 
with  them,  constitute  the  associative  centre,  and 
our  band  of  farmers  (stanch  and  noble-minded  yeo- 
men as  they  are)  take  the  farm  under  some  new  ar- 
rangement, including  more  responsibility  on  their 
part.  Mr.  Shaw  says  the  school  and  paper  must 
not  be  given  up  for  a  single  week.  His  interest  is 
reviving  under  the  light  of  a  new  hope,  and  he 
comes  with  cheerful  spirits  almost  every  day.  Mr. 
Russell  is  much  engaged  about  the  school,  and 
says  he  can  do  something  for  it.  ... 


BROOK  FARM  117 

"  Mr.  Orvis  came  home  Tuesday,  rather  worn 
down  and  disappointed,  but  with  undying  hope, 
faith,  and  devotion.  He  went  to  town  yesterday  to 
make  some  more  active  arrangements  about  the 
subscription.  Much  can  be  done  if  we  are  in  a 
situation  to  avail  ourselves  of  it,  which  we  are  not 
just  at  present.  One  thing  you  will  be  glad  to 
know, —  that  all  minds  in  the  least  degree  capable 
of  it  are  thinking  and  deciding  for  themselves. 
There  is  no  crushing  influence  bearing  upon  them. 
I  never  knew  them  more  free.  Last  night  a  grand 
letter  came  from  John  Allen,  full  of  glowing  love, 
expressed  in  his  primitive  style."  .  .  . 

In  a  letter  to  Charles  Dana  the  lectures  were 
spoken  of  by  Parke  Godwin  in  this  wise :  "  As  to 
Dwight's  lectures,  let  me  say,  that  they  have  been 
the  best  things  we  have  ever  had  here.  All  who 
heard  them  were  delighted.  He  excelled  himself, 
and  for  me  they  were  '  a  refreshing  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord.'  If  this  city  were  not  wholly  given  up 
to  idolatry,  it  would  have  rushed  in  a  body  to  hear 
such  sound  and  beautiful  doctrine." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Boston  Courier^  Mrs.  Lydia 
Maria  Child  gave  her  estimate  of  the  man  and 
his  lectures.  "  He  possesses  qualifications  for 
such  a  task,"  she  wrote,  "  rarely  combined  in 
one  person, —  a  delicate  musical  organization,  ac- 
curate scientific  knowledge,  and  the  far-reaching 
glance  of  a  poet  which  enables  him  to  perceive  that 
music  is  the  golden  key  to  unlock  all  the  analogies 
of  the  universe.     But  such  a  man  must  necessarily 


nS  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

always  speak  to  a  select  few.  The  mechanical  musi- 
cian, occupied  with  counting  the  beats  in  a  bar, 
is  by  no  means  deeply  interested  when  informed 
that  man,  in  his  social  progress,  has  arrived  at  the 
dissonant  Seventh,  which  clamors  vociferously  for 
the  coming  octave.  He  who  merely  enjoys  sweet 
sounds,  as  he  would  the  gurgle  of  brooks  in  the 
springtime,  cares  just  as  little  about  the  spiritual 
significance  of  three,  seven,  and  twelve,  without 
which  music  could  never  have  lived  as  an  art  or 
taken  form  as  a  science.  I  was,  in  fact,  surprised 
that  so  many  of  the  audience  appeared  excited  by 
his  comprehensive  thoughts  and  charmed  with  his 
poetic  fancies.  I  was  myself  especially  pleased  that 
such  an  intense  admirer  of  Beethoven  was  able  to 
do  full  justice  to  the  graceful  brilliancy  of  Rossini 
and  the  sparkling  fairy  play  of  Auber.  The  same 
mind  has  rarely  a  true  appreciation  of  such  diverse 
forms  of  beauty. 

11  The  great  difficulty  with  Dwight  is  that  he 
always  wants  to  say  a  great  deal  more  than  he  can 
say.  Inwardly  rich  and  outwardly  unpractical,  his 
artless  and  beautiful  soul  is  strangely  out  of  place 
in  these  bustling  and  pretending  times.  He  always 
seems  to  me  like  a  little  child  who  has  lost  his  way 
in  the  woods  with  an  apron  brimful  of  flowers, 
which  he  don't  know  what  to  do  with ;  but,  if  you 
can  take  them,  he  will  gladly  give  you  all." 

The  Tribune  said  that  "  Mr.  Dwight's  lectures 
mark  an  epoch  in  the  musical  history  of  New  York ; 
for,  although  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  hear- 


BROOK    FARM  119 

ing  so  much  fine  music,  it  is  perhaps  the  first  time 
that  we  have  had  a  clear  and  wise  assertion  of  the 
dignity  and  compass  of  the  art.  Those  who  regard 
it  as  something  too  subtle  to  be  discussed  in  lectures 
or  in  any  other  way  will  find  that  these  are  only 
expositions  of  the  exact  laws  of  infinite  analogy  and 
correspondence  which  govern  music  as  a  science, 
and,  further,  only  a  simple  and  sincere  expression  of 
the  experience  wrought  by  it  upon  a  delicate  and 
poetical  mind  to  which  music  is  the  celestial  ex- 
pression of  the  sublimest  hope.  Mr.  Dwight  hap- 
pily unites  the  characteristics  of  the  three  classes  so 
well  described  in  his  first  lecture,  to  which  music  is 
either  sentiment,  science,  or  recreation,  so  that  he 
shows  himself  a  wise  lover  and  a  sympathetic  critic. 
His  course  is  so  short  that  he  has  been  necessarily 
restricted  to  a  bold  sketching  to  convey  his  whole 
impression,  but  it  lies  so  accurately  outlined  in  his 
own  mind  that  it  is  very  beautifully  presented  to 
others/' 

From  this  time  on  the  future  of  Brook  Farm 
constantly  engaged  the  interest  of  Dwight  and  his 
earnest  colaborers.  The  number  of  members  was 
reduced,  each  person  was  made  responsible  for  his 
own  personal  support,  and  an  effort  was  made 
to  introduce  the  most  remunerative  employments. 
For  a  little  time  it  seemed  possible  that  the  new 
methods  might  succeed.  In  September,  while  this 
adjustment  was  being  made,  Dwight  wrote  to  Mrs. 
Child:  — 

"  Your  '  Poet's  Dream  of  the  Soul '  I  have  read 


120  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

with  delight.  I  believe  in  its  essential  philosophy, 
and  I  was  equally  surprised  with  the  result.  Men- 
delssohn has  been  a  great  object  of  interest  with 
me  this  summer.  A  friend  gave  me  in  the  spring 
a  set  of  his  '  Lieder  ohne  Worte.'  Hearing  my  sis- 
ter play  them,  and  working  over  them  myself,  has 
been  the  sweetest  thing  of  this  summer's  life.  I 
was  just  preparing  to  write  down  some  fitting  tes- 
timony to  this  pleasure  in  the  Harbinger,  when 
your  story  came.  You  will  see  I  have  made  some 
use  of  it.  But  how  to  go  on  or  keep  a  foothold  in 
this  element  at  all,  just  now,  I  scarcely  see ;  for  I 
am  beset  and  preoccupied  and  exhausted  with  most 
perplexing  and  incessant  cares. 

"  Brook  Farm  must  either  stop  or  change  its 
form  and  operations  most  entirely.  And  I  am  in 
the  midst  of  this, —  everything  to  settle,  nothing 
that  is  not  altogether  loose  and  unsettled,  and  mean- 
while the  Harbinger  to  edit,  and  ever  so  much  of 
other  work  to  which  I  had  pledged  myself.  How- 
ever, a  week  or  two  now  will  decide  all,  I  trust.  I 
think  we  shall  go  on,  but  on  a  much  reduced  scale, 
and  every  one  who  stays  responsible  for  support- 
ing his  own  business  and  his  own  material  person. 

"  You  date,  I  see,  from  the  resolution  of  the  flat 
Seventh  into  the  Sixth,  or  composite.  That  is  a 
very  lovely  region.  Mendelssohn  is  there,  it  is  true ; 
and  I  sometimes  effect  a  transition  into  it.  But 
you  may  judge  from  what  I  have  said  above  that  I 
hail  from  the  sphere  of  all  distraction  and  discord- 
ance, perhaps   I   might  say  from   the  chord  of  the 


BROOK    FARM  121 

Diminished  Seventh,  the  type  of  universal  transi- 
tion, wild,  impatient,  tortured  with  uncertainty  and 
suspense.  As  I  can  hardly  expect  to  reach  the 
octave,  the  sublime  height  of  universal  unity,  I 
humbly  hope  I  also  may  resolve  into  the  lovely  A." 

Another  year  brought  Brook  Farm  to  its  end. 
Ripley  went  to  New  York  to  struggle  with  the 
Harbinger  for  a  year  and  a  half  longer.  He  wrote 
the  bravest  letters  to  Dwight  through  this  period 
of  bitter  struggle  and  severest  drudgery.  Dwight 
went  to  Boston  to  find  an  opening  as  a  literary 
worker,  and  had  a  struggle  not  less  severe  than 
that  of  his  friend.  Gradually  the  interest  in  asso- 
ciation died  out,  though  the  most  vigorous  effort 
was  made  to  keep  it  alive.  The  faith  in  it  of  both 
Ripley  and  Dwight  lost  no  bit  of  its  depth  and 
force  with  the  closing  of  Brook  Farm;  and  they 
still  hoped  that  new  methods  would  bring  larger 
results,  or  results  more  conducive  to  final  success, 
Gradually  they  came  to  see  that  the  struggle  was 
in  vain,  at  least  for  that  time.  They  did  not,  how- 
ever, lose  faith  in  that  for  which  they  had  labored 
so  hard  and  sacrificed  so  much ;  and  they  were  as- 
sociationists  at  heart  to  the  hour  of  death. 

It  has  been  assumed  by  many  that  Brook  Farm 
came  to  an  end  in  complete  eclipse,  and  left  no  in- 
fluence behind  it  except  that  it  wrought  upon  indi- 
vidual lives.  This  is  a  mistake  in  every  way,  for  it 
was  in  reality  the  forerunner  of  movements  more 
important  than  itself.  Out  of  the  associationist 
movement   of   the    later   forties,    of    which     Brook 


122  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Farm  was  the  chief  feature,  came  the  efforts  to 
organize  the  laboring  men  of  the  country.  When 
W.  H.  Channing  preached  association  in  Boston, 
he  drew  about  him  a  number  of  workingmen.  One 
of  these  men  said :  "  This  is  the  first  time  I  have 
found  a  church.  Mr.  Channing  is  the  first  preacher 
who  has  given  me  bread  instead  of  a  stone."  When 
they  found  that  they  could  not  go  to  Brook  Farm, 
they  cast  about  for  means  of  helping  themselves 
in  an  associative  way.  A  co-operative  purchasing 
agency  was  established  by  them.  The  interest  grew 
rapidly.  Soon  there  were  in  Boston  and  vicinity  a 
dozen  such  societies ;  and  in  ten  years  there  were 
five  hundred  and  fifty  in  New  England,  with  an 
annual  business  of  one  and  a  half  million  dollars. 
In  a  considerable  degree  this  result  grew  out  of  the 
lecturing  done  in  behalf  of  Brook  Farm  and  asso- 
ciation by  Rev.  John  Allen  and  John  Orvis,  who 
were  kept  in  the  lecturing  field  during  the  winter 
months  after  Brook  Farm  took  up  the  teachings  of 
Fourier.  When  Brook  Farm  came  to  an  end,  Orvis 
continued  his  labors  in  behalf  of  association,  aiding 
in  the  formation  of  co-operative  stores,  lecturing  in 
the  interest  of  workingmen,  and  editing  The  Voice 
of  Industry,  a  weekly  paper  which  he  published  in 
Boston. 

The  lectures  of  Allen  and  Orvis  throughout 
New  England  served  everywhere  to  arouse  the 
workingmen,  and  to  lead  them  to  agitate  and  or- 
ganize. The  efforts  of  these  men,  especially  of 
Allen,  led  to  systematic  action  for  ten  hours  as  the 


BROOK    FARM  123 

length  of  the  working  day.  A  delegates'  meeting 
of  workingmen,  convened  in  Lowell  at  his  call  in 
1844,  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Workingmen's  Association ;  and  Louis  K. 
Ryckman,  chief  of  the  Brook  Farm  "  Shoemaking 
Series,"  was  chosen  the  president.  The  object  of 
the  association  was  to  secure  a  persistent  agitation 
for  a  ten  hours'  day  and  the  general  social  im- 
provement of  the  laboring  class.  Allen  was  an 
earnest  and  intelligent  man,  and  exerted  as  a 
speaker  a  marked  influence  over  workingmen. 
He  had  been  a  Universalist  clergyman  ;  but  his 
anti-slavery  sermons  gave  offence  to  his  denomina- 
tion, and  he  withdrew  from  the  ministry. 

John  Orvis,  the  brother-in-law  of  Dwight,  was  a 
zealous  believer  in  associative  life.  It  was  to  him 
an  ideal  and  a  religion,  and  for  it  he  labored  all  his 
life.  His  Voice  of  Industry  he  edited  for  about 
two  years  in  Boston  as  the  organ  of  various  work- 
ingmen's movements.  It  was  spoken  of  by 
Greeley  as  "one  of  the  best  weekly  papers  pub- 
lished in  New  England."  During  the  panic  of 
1873,  when  the  laboring  class  was  in  greater  dis- 
tress than  it  had  ever  known  before,  he  was  instru- 
mental in  the  organization  of  the  Sovereigns  of  In- 
dustry. As  the  national  lecturer  of  that  organiza- 
tion, he  was  for  more  than  two  years  constantly  in 
the  field,  lecturing  to  workingmen  upon  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  of  conducting  co-operative  stores 
after  the  Rochdale  plan,  which  he  had  studied  on 
the  spot,  and  in  organizing  councils  of  the  order  in 


124  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

ten  States  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Large 
numbers  of  stores  were  started;  and,  while  they 
mostly  failed  in  New  England  on  account  of  mis- 
management, they  were  successful  in  the  Middle 
and  Western  States,  especially  among  the  miners 
and  workers  in  the  large  iron  industries.  He  com- 
piled from  standard  English  authorities  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  management  of  these  stores, 
which  were  adopted  both  by  the  National  Council 
of  the  Sovereigns  of  Industry  and  the  National 
Grange  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  as  authorized 
by  these  bodies  respectively,  for  conducting  co- 
operative stores. 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  as  Mr.  Orvis  claimed, 
that  Brook  Farm  was  the  chief  instrument  in  set- 
ting on  foot  all  the  movements  since  1840  for  the 
betterment  of  the  wage-earners  and  the  toilers  of 
every  kind.  Directly  it  may  have  done  little ;  but 
it  set  the  agitation  under  way,  and  pointed  out  the 
lines  of  effort  which  have  so  far  been  pursued,  for 
the  most  part. 

No  one  who  was  at  Brook  Farm  has  ever  been 
willing  to  admit  that  the  association  was  a  failure 
in  any  but  a  financial  sense.  It  is  maintained 
by  all  who  were  there  that  the  life  was  genial  and 
happy  in  a  larger  degree  than  they  have  known 
elsewhere.  This  might  be  explained  by  saying  that 
care  and  responsibility  were  removed  from  the  in- 
dividual, that  a  comfortable  home  was  certain,  and 
that  there  was  no  need  of  individual  worry  or  dis- 
content.    However  true  this  may  have  been  of  the 


BROOK    FARM  125 

majority,  it  certainly  could  not  have  been  true  of 
the  leaders,  upon  whom  fell  the  responsibility  of 
providing  ways  and  means  under  difficult  condi- 
tions. The  secret  of  the  satisfaction  that  the  com- 
munity gave  is  to  be  found  in  another  direction. 
Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana  described  it  in  words  which 
are  as  truthful  as  they  are  characteristic :  "  Each 
person  chose  what  he  wished  to  do,  and  none  of  the 
boys  and  girls  tried  to  shirk.  There  was  more  en- 
tertainment in  doing  the  duty  than  in  getting  away 
from  it.  Every  one  was  not  only  ready  for  his 
work,  but  glad  to  do  it.  This  brings  me  to  a 
peculiar  feature  of  the  system :  the  person  who  did 
the  most  disagreeable  work  was  the  one  to  receive 
special  honor  and  distinction,  because  he  was  the 
servant  of  the  others,  and  was  rendering  to  his 
brothers  a  service  not  pleasant  in  itself,  but  which 
under  other  circumstances  they  would  render  to 
him.  That  was  a  universal  quality  and  character- 
istic of  the  society.  Just  as  a  sculptor,  who  is  carv- 
ing an  Apollo,  goes  to  his  work  with  joy  and  passion, 
so  among  us  every  duty  and  every  kind  of  labor 
ought  to  be  performed  with  the  same  enthusiasm, 
zeal,  and  sense  of  artistic  pride." 

This  kind  of  life  had  a  charm  of  its  own,  and  one 
that  impressed  itself  deeply  upon  all  who  came 
within  its  influence.  It  was  something  idyllic,  full 
of  grace  and  beauty,  and  satisfying  to  the  highest 
aspirations  of  the  heart  and  mind.  This  charm 
consisted,  as  George  P.  Bradford  testified,  "  in  the 
free  and  natural  intercourse  for  which  it  gave  oppor- 


126  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

tunity,  and  in  the  working  of  the  elective  affinities 
which  here  had  a  full  play,  so  that,  although  there 
was  a  kindly  feeling  running  through  the  family 
generally,  little  groups  of  friends,  drawn  together 
into  closer  relations  by  taste  and  sympathy,  soon 
declare  themselves.  The  relief  from  the  fetters  and 
burdensome  forms  of  society  was  a  constant  delight 
to  those  who  had  suffered  from  them  in  the  artificial 
arrangements  of  society,  the  inmates  were  brought 
together  in  more  natural  relations,  and  thus  realized 
the  charm  of  true  and  hearty  intercourse,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  relief  and  pleasures  of  solitude  were 
not  wanting."  Higginson  adds  to  this  testimony 
by  saying  that,  "whatever  might  be  said  of  the 
actual  glebe  at  Brook  Farm,  the  social  structure 
was  of  the  richest.  Those  who  ever  lived  there 
usually  account  it  to  this  day  as  the  happiest  period 
of  their  lives." 

It  speaks  well  for  Brook  Farm  that  all  the  per- 
sons who  were  there  for  any  considerable  length  of 
time  regretted  its  failure,  and  wished  to  have  it  go 
on.  They  attributed  its  want  of  success  to  outside 
causes,  and  not  to  any  inherent  defect  in  the  associa- 
tion itself.  The  earlier  years  were  undoubtedly  the 
most  happy  and  the  most  idyllic,  with  a  charm 
superior  to  those  which  succeeded,  when  the  press- 
ure of  industrial  interests  was  greater,  and  when 
the  membership  was  more  varied  and  less  har- 
monious. If  the  members  looked  upon  the  outside 
world  as  in  some  degree  barbarian,  and  spoke  of  its 
people  with  a  tone  of  contempt  as  civiliz'ees,  it  was 


BROOK    FARM  127 

a  justifiable  expression  of  faith  in  their  own  form  of 
life  and  its  superior  merits.  Where  peace  reigned 
and  good  will  was  universal  might  be  justly  claimed 
as  a  place  worthy  of  imitation. 

The  merits  of  Brook  Farm  were  those  of  all 
similar  societies  wherever  they  have  been  success- 
ful. The  clan  life  of  primitive  races  and  the  house 
communities  of  more  advanced  peoples  have  shown 
forth  conspicuously  the  same  advantages.  Brook 
Farm  had  the  distinct  merit  of  bringing  together  a 
large  number  of  superior  people  who  devoted  them- 
selves to  an  experiment  in  education  of  a  unique 
and  interesting  character.  In  no  other  respect  was 
their  community  different  from  those  undertaken 
in  considerable  numbers  at  the  same  period,  and  on 
the  same  general  principles  in  all  times  and  coun- 
tries. The  advances  in  civilization  have  not  been 
so  made,  and  no  superior  form  of  social  institution 
has  ever  been  organized  without  free  competition 
and  individual  struggle.  Yet  such  an  experiment 
shows  clearly  enough  that  life  is  finer  and  more 
beautiful,  kinder  and  happier,  where  men  are  de- 
voted to  each  other's  good,  and  where  the  constant 
struggle  for  the  mere  means  of  subsistence  is  made 
less  urgent  and  distracting.  No  one  can  find  the 
real  charm  of  life  who  is  ar::ious  each  day  that  those 
dependent  on  him  may  have  enough  to  eat  and 
wear. 

Such  experiments,  even  in  their  failures,  make  it 
clearer  that  a  natural  and  spontaneous  community 
of  interests  is  necessary  to  a  true  social  and  moral 


128  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

life.  The  method  of  the  associationists  was  not 
large  enough  to  secure  the  results  they  desired,  but 
it  hints  of  how  men  are  helped  by  serving  each 
other.  Co-operation  will  secure  what  competition 
has  never  yet  been  able  to  attain, —  a  united  and 
happy  community, —  whether  tribe,  state,  or  nation, 
— wherein  the  interests  of  all  are  the  interests  of 
each  one,  and  wherein  each  member  finds  his  own 
highest  good  in  seeking  that  which  will  conduce  to 
the  good  of  the  whole.  The  way  to  this  happy 
issue  will  be  found  through  the  science  of  soci- 
ology rather  than  by  means  of  any  of  the  panaceas 
offered  by  communism  and  socialism. 


CHAPTER   V. 
A   TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS. 

After  leaving  Brook  Farm,  Dwight  took  up  his 
residence  in  Boston,  and  continued  the  literary  em- 
ployments which  had  largely  engaged  his  attention 
for  some  years.  He  at  first  joined  with  a  company 
of  persons  who  had  been  residents  of  Brook  Farm, 
or  connected  with  the  several  associationist  organi- 
zations in  Boston,  in  trying  an  experiment  of  asso- 
ciation in  the  management  of  a  boarding-house.  A 
house  was  taken  in  High  Street,  and  the  members 
applied  the  co-operative  method  in  its  management. 
The  experiment  was  undertaken  partly  for  the  sake 
of  economy  and  partly  that  as  many  of  the  Brook 
Farm  members  as  possible  might  be  kept  together. 
This  effort  at  association  was  continued  for  only 
about  a  year,  when,  some  of  the  members  failing  to 
share  their  part  of  the  burden,  it  came  to  an  end. 

A  member  of  this  co-operative  family  has  given 
the  following  account  of  the  occasion  of  its  forma- 
tion and  of  the  arrangements  by  which  it  was  held 
together :  "  There  had  often  been  talk  of  a  '  com- 
bined household,' and  in  the  fall  of  1848  we  decided 
to  try  the  experiment  for  a  year.  It  was  with  great 
reluctance  we  took  the  house  in  High  Street,  as  it 
was  too  far  out  of  the  current  to  suit  our  purposes ; 
but  it  was  hard  to  find  a  house  with  rooms  enough 
at  a  rent  that  we  could  meet.  The  rent  of  each 
room  was  appraised;  and  they  were  all  quickly 
taken,  mostly  by  members  of  the  three  unions  of  as- 


130  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

sociationists, —  the  Boston,  Religious,  and  Woman's 
Unions, —  five  of  whom  had  been  members  of 
Brook  Farm, —  John  S.  Dwight,  Jonathan  Butter- 
field,  Rebecca,  John,  and  Charles  Codman.  I  can- 
not think  of  any  other.  One  party,  who  had  been 
greatly  interested  in  the  movement,  was  obliged  to 
give  it  up ;  and  the  vacant  place  was  taken  by 
strangers  who  had  expressed  great  interest,  but  who 
had  no  part  previously  in  the  work.  The  Boston 
and  Religious  Unions  held  their  regular  meetings 
and  social  entertainments  in  the  large  parlors,  and 
the  Woman's  Union  had  its  little  salesroom  back. 
All  the  household  was  boarded  satisfactorily  by  the 
Woman's  Union,  which  cleared  all  expenses,  the 
women  being  charged  $1.50  and  the  men  $1.75  a 
week.  At  the  end  of  the  year  we  separated  in  va- 
rious directions,  some  retaining  the  house  for  an- 
other year.  Mr.  Dwight  went  with  his  friends, 
who  took  a  house  on  Pinckney  Street,  and  re- 
mained with  them  until  after  his  marriage." 

Dwight  did  not  abandon  in  any  degree  his  in- 
terest in  association  on  leaving  Brook  Farm,  and 
his  efforts  in  its  behalf  continued  for  at  least  five 
years  nearly  as  active  as  they  had  been  at  the  com- 
munity. One  form  of  this  activity  was  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Religious  Union  of  Associationists, 
which  grew  out  of  the  preaching  of  Rev.  W.  H. 
Channing  at  Brook  Farm  and  a  small  religious 
society  he  there  organized.  The  Religious  Union 
was  organized  in  Boston,  Jan.  3,  1847,  at  the  house 
of  James  T.  Fisher,  who  was  made  the  recording 


A   TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  131 

secretary,  and  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  and 
efficient  members.  Channing  felt  that  association 
must  be  distinctly  based  on  a  religious  foundation, 
hence  the  organization  of  the  society.  Its  history 
has  been  fully  told  in  Frothingham's  biography  of 
Channing.  Dwight  had  charge  of  the  music  at  the 
religious  meetings  held  by  the  Union ;  and  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  existence  of  the  society  he 
was  an  earnest  worker  in  its  behalf,  often  presided 
in  Channing's  absence,  and  sometimes  conducted 
the  services.  Among  those  who  sang  in  the  choir 
were  Nathaniel  Chapin,  O.  W.  Withington,  W.  W. 
Story,  Frances  Dwight,  Mary  Bullard,  Helen  M. 
Parsons ;  and  Harriet  Grauptner  was  the  pianist. 
At  the  first  service,  held  January  3,  1847,  the 
"  Sanctus  "  from  Mozart's  Twelfth  Mass  was  sung 
by  the  Misses  Bullard  and  Helen  M.  Parsons,  and 
by  Messrs.  Dwight,  W.  W.  Story,  and  O.  W.  With- 
ington. Most  of  these  persons  were  warmly  inter- 
ested in  association. 

To  the  music  of  this  society  Dwight  gave  much 
attention,  selecting  the  best,  and  that  most  truly 
adapted  to  religious  purposes,  whatever  the  source 
from  which  it  was  obtained.  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Che- 
ney says  she  first  heard  the  Kyrie  eleison  at  these 
meetings.  Only  the  best  music  was  sung,  that 
which  was  classical  in  character  and  by  the  great 
composers.  The  grand  old  church  music  was  fre- 
quently made  use  of,  as  were  parts  of  the  great 
masses  of  the  Catholic  Church.  As  Dwight  had 
entire  charge  of  selecting  and  directing  the  music, 


132  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

he  would  have  nothing  which  was  not  of  the  very 
best  aesthetic  quality;  and  he  especially  aimed  to 
harmonize  the  music  with  the  broad  and  catholic 
spirit  of  the  religious  services  as  conducted  by 
Channing. 

In  the  American  Review  for  May,  1847,  an  ac- 
count of  these  meetings  was  given,  and  the  musical 
part  of  the  service  was  criticised.  In  the  Har- 
binger for  June  19  Dwight  made  reply,  and  gave 
his  reasons  for  selecting  classical  music.  The  critic 
found  fault  that  the  singing  was  not  such  as  he 
could  hear  elsewhere,  that  the  mass  music  was  made 
use  of,  and  that  the  words  were  in  Latin.  "  The 
only  aim  of  the  singers,"  Dwight  replied,  "was  to 
have  good  and  practicable  music,  whether  they 
found  it  in  Catholic  masses,  in  Protestant  oratorios, 
in  Gregorian  and  Lutheran  chants,  or  even  in  Yan- 
kee psalmody.  The  taste  and  experience  of  the 
choir  led  them  for  the  time  being  to  selections  from 
these  masses,  because  the  music  seemed  to  them  so 
warm,  so  reverent,  so  beautifully  expressive  of  the 
heart's  best  aspirations,  and  of  the  true  religion, 
which  is  love  and  joy.  The  Latin  words  they  did  not 
consider  an  objection,  because  they  are  so  beautiful 
and  true  in  themselves,  because  they  are  consecrated 
by  long  usage  in  a  great  part  of  the  Christian 
world,  and  because,  being  so  simple  and  few,  and 
always  the  same  for  the  same  theme  and  sentiment, 
they  explain  themselves  in  connection  with  the 
music  ;  while  the  ordinary  practice  of  singing  a  long 
didactic  poem  to  a  psalm  tune  is  unmusical  and  in- 


A    TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  133 

congruous  in  every  point  of  view.  But  they  have 
never  bound  themselves  to  this  more  than  to  any 
other  music.  It  has  reigned  with  them  thus  far 
because  it  proved  convenient,  and  because  the 
singers  and  the  majority  of  the  hearers  felt  a  grow- 
ing love  for  it.  But  the  reviewer  heard  a  common 
congregational  psalm  sung  in  the  same  place  as  a 
part  of  the  same  service  on  each  day  that  he  was 
present,  which  he  does  not  mention ;  and  let  him 
not  be  surprised  if  on  some  other  occasion  he 
should  hear  there  Protestant  Handel  instead  of 
Catholic  Mozart.  For  music  is  more  catholic  than 
all  the  churches, —  the  faithful,  many-sided  ser- 
vant of  the  human  heart ;  and  whatsoever  is  good 
music  is  a  harmony  and  help  to  what  is  most  re- 
ligious, loving,  and  profound  in  human  souls,  whether 
it  was  born  on  Catholic  or  heretic  or  even  on  a 
heathen  soil. 

"  And  this  is  all  our  answer  to  the  charge  of  cut- 
ting a  sublime  thing  out  of  its  appropriate  setting. 
Doubtless  a  whole  mass  would  be  better  than  a 
piece  of  one,  a  full  choir  and  an  organ  would  be 
better  than  a  quartette  and  a  pianoforte,  and  a  cathe- 
dral, with  its  solemn  lights  and  aisles,  would  be  the 
fitting  complement  of  such  high  strains.  This  none 
could  feel  more  clearly  than  the  persons  who  are 
drawn  towards  this  music  by  its  own  intrinsic 
beauty  and  expressiveness.  But  because  we  can- 
not have  all,  may  we  not  have  a  part?  Is  there  no 
intrinsic  meaning  and  beauty  in  the  music  by  itself? 
If  it  inspires  the  singer  and  hearer,  if  it  imparts  a 


134  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

warmth  such  as  cold  common  psalmody  cannot,  if 
it  lifts  the  thoughts  more  nearly  to  the  state  which 
we  call  worship,  if  it  weaves  a  spell  of  holy  com- 
munion round  us,  why  reject  it  and  put  up  with 
duller  things  because  we  cannot  have  it  in  the  full 
glory  of  all  its  accompaniments?  As  to  its  being 
'sacrilegiously  stolen,'  we  say  this  music  came  from 
Mozart  and  from  Haydn,  and  not  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church ;  and  it  belongs  to  every  soul 
which  can  respond  to  it,  which  can  appreciate  it, 
which  has  states  answering  to  its  solemn,  cheerful 
tones.  It  belongs  to  humanity,  to  the  one  church 
universal  which  is  not  yet,  but  which  waits  until 
humanity  be  one.  For  music  is  a  universal  lan- 
guage: it  knows  nothing  of  opinions,  creeds,  and 
doctrines  that  divide.  It  knows  only  the  heart  of 
the  whole  matter,  which  is  one.  It  speaks  to  hearts, 
to  that  which  all  men  have  in  common,  and  in 
cherishing  which  resides  our  only  hope  of  unity,  our 
only  hope  of  ever  seeing  a  truly  catholic  and  uni- 
versal church.  In  Christ  we  hear  a  kindred  lan- 
guage ;  and  by  a  natural  and  worthy  correspondence 
do  associationists  commune  together  in  the  thought 
of  Christ,  and  in  the  atmosphere  of  music,  which  is 
both  human  and  divine,  as  he  was." 

Immediately  after  leaving  Brook  Farm,  Dwight 
began  to  write  on  musical  topics  for  the  Daily 
Chronotyfie,  edited  and  published  by  Elizur  Wright. 
His  work  was  that  of  giving  an  account  of  concerts 
and  other  musical  entertainments,  reviewing  new 
music,  and    writing   articles    on    special    topics   of 


A    TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  135 

musical  interest.  During  the  year  1849  he  did  the 
same  kind  of  work  for  the  Daily  Advertiser. 

When  the  Harbinger  came  to  an  end,  early  in 
1849,  Dwight  was  ready  to  continue  his  efforts  for 
association,  and  made  an  arrangement  for  conduct- 
ing a  department  in  that  interest  in  the  Daily 
Chronotype  of  Boston.  In  the  number  of  that  paper 
for  Aug.  23,  1849,  the  editor  of  this  one-cent  daily 
said,  "  By  an  arrangement  with  some  friends  of  so- 
cial reform  we  have  given  up  to  them  the  control 
of  three  columns  on  the  first  page.  For  the  con- 
tents of  them  they  alone  are  responsible.  Their 
sentiments,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe,  will 
correspond  with  our  own ;  but  we  shall  hold  our- 
selves at  perfect  liberty  to  combat  them  when  we 
see  fit." 

Among  those  Dwight  was  able  to  gather  about 
him  to  assist  him  in  this  work  were  W.  H.  Chan- 
ning,  W.  F.  Channing,  C.  A.  Dana,  and  Albert 
Brisbane.  Poetry  was  furnished  by  C.  P.  Cranch 
and  others.  Dwight  translated  Victor  Consider- 
ant's  "  Attractive  Industry,  or  else  the  Slavery  of 
the  Masses."  Among  other  topics  on  which  he 
wTrote  were  workingmen  as  their  own  employers, 
Fourier's  writings,  Hungary,  systems  of  socialism, 
protective  unions  for  workingmen,  and  dilettante- 
ism  as  opposed  to  the  interests  of  the  people. 
The  statement  of  purposes  in  the  first  number 
was  written  by  Dwight,  and  some  parts  of  it  are 
worthy  of  notice  as  a  summary  of  his  opinions  on 
the  subject  of  association. 


136  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  We  mean  that  the  great  social  problems  of  the 
times,"  he  wrote,  "  the  problem  of  labor  and  of  a 
true  society  based  upon  labor  rightly  organized, 
shall  have  some  justice  done  in  these  columns.  .  .  . 
We  propose  to  present  a  fair,  kindly,  and  intelli- 
gent account  of  the  great  socialistic  movement  in 
all  branches,  to  note  all  progress  in  the  science  and 
the  practice  of  domestic  and  industrial  association, 
to  show  the  symptoms  everywhere  about  us  of  the 
approach  of  the  whole  toiling  and  producing  mul- 
titude to  an  era  of  complete  and  universal  mutual- 
ism or  guarantism,  and,  finally,  to  trace  the  several 
movements  to  the  end  in  which  they  all  converge ; 
namely,  to  labor  made  attractive  in  complete  asso- 
ciation. 

"  We  are  disposed  to  take  the  name  of  socialist 
for  better  or  for  worse,  and  challenge  all  the  world 
to  prove  that  there  can  be  a  better  Christian,  a 
truer  friend  of  order,  a  more  sincere  respecter  of 
the  rights  of  property  and  family,  a  more  delicately 
careful  guardian  of  every  individuality  and  every 
sacred  sphere  of  life,  than  is  the  genuine  socialist 
who  feels  and  understands  his  reconciling  mission. 
He  asks  for  guaranties  of  much  more  such  protec- 
tion to  these  principles  than  civilized  society  af- 
fords. He  sees  that,  after  all,  there  is  no  property 
secure,  no  union  lasting,  no  family  sacred,  no  indi- 
viduality consulted,  no  true  education  possible,  save 
by  the  happiest  fortune  of  a  few  in  a  society  whose 
spring  is  competition,  and  whose  only  order  is  the 
blind    resultant  of   old    anarchy  that   proves   itself 


A   TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  13; 

even  now  too  strong  for  its  governing  principle  of 
force.  He  feels  that  there  is  a  common  life  which 
sets  through  all  humanity,  and  that  humanity  col- 
lectively ;  in  other  words,  society  on  this  globe 
must  first  be  set  in  order  before  the  individual  can 
be  himself  or  know  the  meaning  of  the  Christian 
communion  with  his  neighbor  and  with  God.  He 
asks  himself  what  it  is  that  interests  all  men  most 
widely,  that  silently  creeps  under  the  political  bar- 
riers of  nations,  that  understands  itself  in  every  lan- 
guage, and  knits  the  widest  and  most  complex 
relations  between  the  people  of  all  countries,  con- 
trolling every  legislature,  cabinet,  and  throne.  It 
is  the  industry  and  commerce  by  which  wealth  is 
created  and  distributed.  This  of  itself  can  weave 
a  brotherhood  of  nations  and  transform  any  despot- 
ism, but  only  on  one  grand  condition, —  only  on 
condition  that  the  principle  of  laissez-faire  or  com- 
petition, by  which  it  now  tends  to  industrial  Van- 
dalism, shall  be  made  to  give  place  to  association, 
which  shall  reconcile  all  interests  and  open  oppor- 
tunities to  all. 

"  We  are  associationists,  but  we  are  not  *  promis- 
cuous aggressionists.'  We  believe  in  an  organic 
solidarity,  a  harmony,  and  not  in  a  confusion  of  in- 
terests. We  believe  a  true  society  should  guarantee 
the  '  right  to  labor,'  without  which  every  other  right 
is  futile ;  but  we  do  not  believe  in  public  bounties 
upon  idleness, —  the  right  to  labor,  but  not  neces- 
sarily the  duty  of  interference  by  the  State,  which 
may  be  left  to  times  and  places.     Meanwhile  our 


138  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

hope  is  strongest  in  the  power  of  the  laborers  them- 
selves by  peacefully  associating  their  industry  to 
guarantee  to  one  another  this  right  in  its  fulness. 

"  We  believe  in  individual  property.  We  are 
not  communists.  Organization  of  labor  will  enrich 
all,  as  no  rash  spoliation  or  division  ever  could. 
We  hold  the  laborer  entitled  to  the  fruits  of  his 
own  earnings,  and  that  the  employer  will  be  the 
gainer  by  making  him  a  partner  in  the  profits  of 
the  production.  We  believe  that  labor,  capital,  and 
skill,  all  three  have  rights,  and  must  not  be  denied 
remuneration.  We  are  not  for  withholding  interest 
on  capital,  however  it  may  bring  us  at  issue  with 
some  schools  of  socialism.  We  are  of  the  party  of 
peace.  Our  watchword  is  the  peaceful  transforma- 
tion of  the  subversive,  false  societies  of  competition 
into  the  co-operative  society  of  unity  and  harmony 
under  God's  perfect  code  of  love. 

"  We  are  not  red  republicans.  We  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  red  banner.  Nor  do  we  believe 
that  the  spirit  and  tendency  of  socialism  has  been 
anything  but  peaceful.  Indeed,  socialism  altogether 
is  a  peaceful  protest  against  the  red  rule  of  force, 
by  which  the  privileged  party  of  the  past  alone 
maintains  its  sway.  .  .  . 

"  Are  we,  then,  masters  of  a  social  science,  that 
we  are  emboldened  to  address  ourselves  to  such  a 
mighty  task  of  reconciliation  ?  .  .  .  Frankly,  we  be- 
lieve we  hold  the  key  to  it.  It  is  our  privilege  to 
be  born  into  a  time  when  some  of  the  great  har- 
monies of  such  a  reconciling  law  have  been  struck, 


A   TIME   OF    EXPERIMENTS  139 

and  our  ears  did  not  chance  to  be  closed  against 
them.  A  work  of  years,  it  may  be,  and  of  many 
minds  united  to  show  the  full  and  fair  proportions 
of  the  social  science,  to  state  in  all  its  length  and 
breadth,  and  all  its  infinite  beauty  of  detail  and 
special  application,  God's  law  of  harmonic  society 
on  earth.  But  the  only  way  —  and  to  evade  it 
would  be  treason  to  our  souls  —  is  to  trust,  and  fol- 
low up  such  glimpses  as  we  have.  And  we  say  that 
even  now,  in  the  confused  whirl  of  noisy  and  im- 
patient opinions  which  bears  the  name  of  socialism, 
there  is  mixed  up  some  of  the  serenest  wisdom 
which  ever  visited  the  human  soul.  There  are 
clear  outlines,  benign  intimations  caught  by  some 
souls  in  the  movement  of  a  law,  a  science  which 
shall  reconcile  all  interests,  all  parties,  do  away  all 
terrors,  and  effect  a  peaceful  transition  out  of  these 
ages  of  industrial  competition,  with  its  attendant 
train  of  poverty,  ignorance,  crime,  war,  slavery,  and 
disease,  into  an  age  of  universal  co-operation,  union, 
competence,  refinement,  peace,  and  Perfect  Liberty 
with  Perfect  Order.  «  T  g  D  » 

This  venture  did  not  prove  a  success,  and  the 
arrangement  was  continued  only  for  a  few  months. 
The  publishers  of  the  Chronotype  were  not  able  or 
willing  to  carry  out  their  part  of  the  agreement. 
Various  other  plans  were  discussed  by  Dwight  and 
his  friends,  but  nothing  came  of  them.  In  the 
mean  time  his  interest  in  association  did  not  abate, 
and  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the 


140  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Boston  Union  of  Associationists.  He  gave  much 
time  to  its  meetings  and  to  keeping  the  organiza- 
tion in  a  healthy  condition.  He  helped  to  provide 
music,  to  organize  entertainments,  and  to  make  the 
meetings  attractive.  He  was  a  leader  in  celebrat- 
ing the  birthday  of  Fourier  each  year  in  April, 
securing  music,  writing  toasts,  preparing  the  pro- 
gramme, and  making  the  meetings  a  success.  Two 
of  the  toasts  prepared  by  him  for  the  celebration 
of  1849  may  here  be  given  as  indicative  of  his  atti- 
tude towards  the  social  problems  of  the  day :  — 

"  To  Joy  !  to  Liberty  !  to  Childhood's  Mirth  !  to 
Youth's  Enthusiasm  !  to  the  warm  life-thrill  of  At- 
traction felt  through  every  fibre  of  existence!  The 
times  are  coming  —  the  Harmonic  Times  of  Unity 
and  Love  —  when  the  Passions  in  their  purity  shall 
prove  themselves  divine;  when  Liberty  shall  not 
be  license,  nor  amusement  folly;  when  every  fac- 
ulty, the  humblest  as  the  highest,  shall  find  supreme 
delight  in  Uses ;  when  Labor  shall  be  Play ;  and 
Joy  and  Beauty  crown  the  works  of  men.  Let 
rhythmic  feasts  and  songs  and  dances  still  renew 
the  prophecy  of  the  Harmonic  Times  !  " 

"  The  Wrongs  and  Hopes  of  Labor !  Long 
has  been  its  martyrdom.  A  year  ago  the  sounds 
of  its  deliverance  in  the  Old  World  pealed  across 
the  ocean  into  the  midst  of  our  festival.  The 
struggle  outwardly  has  been  in  vain.  Still  thou- 
sands starve  in  Ireland.  Still,  goaded  to  madness, 
the  impatient  crowds  rising  to  claim  their  rights 
have  been  shot  down.     But  not  in  vain  has  been 


A    TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  141 

their  martyrdom.  A  peaceful  deliverance  is  nigh. 
The  spirit  of  God  is  moving  in  this  age  in  the  in- 
stinct of  association.  Its  ways  are  devious,  frag- 
mentary, many.  But  they  will  all  unite,  and  indus- 
try be  organized,  and  man  be  free  and  honored  in 
his  functions  by  his  brother  man." 

During  this  period  Dwight  was  in  demand  as  a 
lecturer  on  musical  subjects.  In  1850  and  in  1851 
he  furnished  to  Sartairis  Magazine  of  Philadelphia 
a  monthly  article  on  some  musical  topic,  and  each 
article  was  accompanied  by  a  popular  piece  of  mu- 
sic selected  by  him.  He  wrote  frequently  for  a 
musical  journal  published  in  New  York,  and  called 
the  Messenger  Bird.  He  contributed  to  other  pub- 
lications on  the  great  composers  and  their  works,  or 
on  current  subjects  connected  with  music.  During 
the  first  six  months  of  185 1  he  was  the  musical 
editor  of  the  Boston  Commonwealth.  In  this  con- 
nection the  following  letter  may  find  a  place:  — 

West  Newton,  Nov.  23,  '51. 
My  dear  Sir, —  I  understand  that  you  wish  to 
ascertain,  on  Mr.  Sartain's  behalf,  whether  I  could 
supply  him  with  an  article  for  his  magazine.  It  so 
happens  that  I  have  recently  written  a  story,  and 
have  it  now  on  hand.  As  regards  the  important 
point  of  remuneration,  Gresham  made  an  offer  a 
year  since  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  an  article  ;  and 
I  suppose  (but  am  not  quite  certain)  that  his  pro- 
posal would  still  hold  good.  Dr.  Bailey,  of  the 
National  Era,  has  likewise  offered   me  the   same 


142  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

sum.  I  should  prefer  to  publish  the  story  in  a 
magazine  rather  than  a  newspaper;  and  on  this 
account,  and  because  I  do  not  know  whether 
Gresham  wants  the  article  now,  I  would  let  Mr. 
Sartain  have  it  at  the  above-named  price. 

If  it  will  increase  the  value  of  the  article,  Mr.  Sar- 
tain may  be  assured  that  I  shall  not  write  anything 
else  for  the  magazines  at  present,  being  about  to  en- 
gage in  a  large  work. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 

P.S. —  I  am  established  here  for  the  winter,  and 
it  would  give  Mrs.  Hawthorne  and  myself  much 
pleasure  to  see  you. 

During  the  years  1850  and  185 1  Dwight  seri- 
ously discussed  a  removal  to  New  York,  and  the 
connection  of  himself  with  the  Tribune.  His 
friends  Ripley  and  Dana  had  secured  for  them- 
selves places  on  that  newspaper,  and  they  wished 
to  have  his  aid  as  a  coworker.  Ripley  urged  his 
making  the  venture  of  joining  the  staff  of  the 
paper,  and  making  for  himself  a  permanent  place 
there.  In  February,  1850,  Ripley  wrote  to  him: 
"  We  stand  in  the  greatest  need  of  you  here,  how- 
ever little  you  may  need  New  York  or  anything 
that  therein  is.     You  can  not  come  too  soon." 

In  September,  Ripley  wrote,  urging  his  friend  to 
come  to  New  York  at  once  and  begin  work ;  but 
no  definite  remuneration  was  guaranteed.     A  little 


A   TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  143 

later  he  and  Dana  made  an  effort  to  secure  a  place 
for  Dwight  on  the  Herald,  and  Parke  Godwin 
the  next  year  endeavored  to  connect  him  with  the 
Evening  Post.  Dwight  seems  to  have  tried  the 
work  on  the  Tribune  for  a  short  period,  but  it 
evidently  was  not  wholly  to  his  liking.  During 
the  year  185 1  Ripley  secured  the  promise  of  publi- 
cation, by  J.  S.  Redfield,  of  New  York,  of  a  bi- 
ography of  Mozart  which  Dwight  was  then  prepar- 
ing. In  October  of  that  year  Dwight  wrote  from 
New  York  to  his  brother :  "  As  to  the  Mozart  book, 
I  have  almost  decided  to  let  Mason  &  Law  pub- 
lish it.  They  offer  me  ten  per  cent,  on  all  sales, 
and  wish  to  stereotype  and  bring  out  the  whole  at 
once  in  two  volumes,  say  in  July  or  August."  This 
work  was  not  published,  probably  owing  to  the  fact 
that  Dwight  soon  gave  his  attention  to  the  publica- 
tion of  a  musical  journal  in  Boston. 

John  S.  Dwight  and  Mary  Bullard  were  married 
Feb.  12,  185 1,  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Channing.  Miss 
Bullard  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Brook  Farm.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  choir  of  the  Religious  Union 
of  Associationists,  and  she  was  an  active  worker 
with  Dwight  in  all  his  efforts  to  keep  alive  the 
Boston  Union  of  Associationists.  From  1849 
he  had  been  living  in  Pinckney  Street,  an  inmate 
of  the  house  of  Mrs.  Parsons,  who,  with  her 
daughters,  was  a  member  of  the  Union  of  Associa- 
tionists. Here  Miss  Bullard  also  had  her  home, 
here  they  were  married,  and  in  the  same  house  they 
remained  for  several  months  after  this  event.     In 


144  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

1853  they  rented  a  house  in  Charles  Street,  near 
Cambridge  Street;  and  here  they  resided  for  sev- 
eral years. 

Mary  Bullard  was  a  beautiful,  winning,  unselfish 
woman,  a  fine  singer,  and  a  person  of  many  attrac- 
tions of  body  and  mind.  She  had  a  serene  and 
charming  face,  was  a  fine  talker,  and  had  a  most 
gracious  and  attractive  manner.  At  Brook  Farm 
her  coming  was  hailed  with  delight  by  all ;  for  she 
was  a  superior  singer,  and  she  lent  herself  pleas- 
antly to  all  the  interests  of  the  place.  A  Brook 
Farmer  says  that  "  she  was  vivacious,  quick,  and 
sprightly ;  was  fond  of  conversation,  but,  no  matter 
how  trivial  the  subject  of  discourse,  it  grew  into 
earnestness  in  her  mind,  unless  she  was  wholly  play- 
ful. But  her  chief  distinction  was  her  love  and 
talent  for  music,  and  in  the  capacity  of  beautiful 
singer  she  was  first  introduced  to  us."  At  the  farm 
she  was  known  as  "  the  Nightingale,"  because  of 
her  gifts  as  a  singer.  By  this  name  Ripley  men- 
tions her  in  his  letters  to  Dwight,  and  by  that  of 
"  die  lieblichste."  One  of  her  intimate  friends  has 
written  of  her :  "  Mary  was  a  lovely  person  for  a 
housemate.  She  was  frank,  outspoken,  but  always 
just  and  harmonious."  William  H.  Channing  said 
that,  without  being  morbid,  she  was  the  most  thor- 
oughly conscientious  person  he  ever  knew. 

The  five  years  which  had  now  passed  since  Brook 
Farm  closed  had  been  years  of  struggle  and  disap- 
pointment for  Dwight.  They  had  also  been  years 
of  poverty  and  failure.     He  had  tried  many  things, 


A    TIME    OF    EXPERIMENTS  145 

had  struggled  hard  to  find  a  permanent  place,  and 
all  had  ended  with  small  results.  His  marriage  had 
been  delayed  through  four  or  five  years  for  these 
reasons,  and  was  entered  upon  with  few  prospects 
for  the  immediate  future.  At  last  he  was  to  find 
the  place  for  which  he  was  fitted  ;  and,  though  it 
did  not  give  him  much  money,  it  did  give  him 
congenial  employment  and  a  task  suited  to  his 
genius. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
"DWIGHTS   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC." 

The  reason  why ''D wight  did  not  connect  himself 
with  the  Tribune  was  doubtless  because  he  had  an 
ambition  for  a  periodical  of  his  own,  to  be  devoted 
exclusively  to  music  and  to  be  entirely  under  his 
own  control.  Early  in  the  year  185 1  that  project 
had  taken  definite  shape  in  his  own  mind,  and  he 
wrote  to  Ripley  in  detail  of  his  plan.  He  proposed 
to  secure  a  guarantee  fund  that  would  enable  him 
to  carry  the  paper  on  for  one  year  without  loss,  to 
become  both  publisher  and  editor,  and  to  devote 
his  paper  entirely  to  music  and  the  kindred  arts. 
Ripley  objected  to  his  undertaking  to  act  as  his 
own  publisher,  and  the' taking  any  responsibility  of 
a  personal  character  which  would  involve  financial 
loss  to  himself.  "  You  will  not  bother  yourself,  I 
hope,"  Ripley  wrote,  "by  incurring  any  personal 
responsibilities  on  the  strength  of  anticipated  sub- 
scriptions. The  friends  of  music  should  shoulder 
the  burden,  raise  the  money,  while  you  give  to  it 
the  aid  of  your  talents  and  taste." 

This  advice  was  taken  so  far  as  securing  a  guar- 
antee fund  was  concerned,  and  the  next  year  was 
devoted  to  obtaining  the  aid  of  those  interested  in 
the  project.  In  February,  1852,  the  plan  was  so 
far  matured  that  a  circular  was  prepared  by  Dwight, 
setting  forth  his  purposes  in  establishing  a  musical 
journal  of  a  superior  character.  How  he  proposed 
to  conduct  it  he  stated  in  these  words :  — 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       147 

"  The  tone  to  be  impartial,  independent,  catholic, 
conciliatory,  aloof  from  musical  clique  and  contro- 
versy, cordial  to  all  good  things,  but  not  eager  to 
chime  in  with  any  powerful  private  interest  of  pub- 
lisher, professor,  concert-giver,  manager,  society,  or 
party.  This  paper  would  make  itself  the  '  organ ' 
of  no  school  or  class,  but  simply  an  organ  of  what 
may  be  called  the  Musical  Movement  in  our  coun- 
try, of  the  growing  love  of  deep  and  genuine  music, 
of  the  growing  consciousness  that  music,  first  amid 
other  forms  of  Art,  is  intimately  connected  with 
Man's  truest  life  and  destiny.  It  will  insist  much 
on  the  claims  of  '  Classical '  music,  and  point 
out  its  beauties  and  its  meanings,  not  with  a  pe- 
dantic partiality,  but  because  the  enduring  needs 
always  to  be  held  up  in  contrast  with  the  epheme- 
ral. But  it  will  also  aim  to  recognize  what  good 
there  is  in  styles  more  simple,  popular,  or  modern, 
will  give  him  who  is  Italian  in  his  tastes  an  equal 
hearing  with  the  German,  and  will  even  print  the 
articles  of  those  opposed  to  the  partialities  or  the 
opinions  of  the  editor,  provided  they  be  written 
briefly,  decently,  and  to  the  point." 

In  this  effort  to  establish  an  independent  journal, 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  music,  Dwight  had  the 
active  support  and  co-operation  of  the  Harvard 
Musical  Association.  He  brought  his  project  before 
that  society  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1852,  which 
was  held  in  January ;  and,  at  a  special  meeting  held 
in  February,  measures  were  taken  to  afford  him 
such  aid  as  he  needed.     The  securing  of  the  guar- 


148  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

antee  fund  was  in  considerable  degree  due  to  the 
co-operation  of  the  members;  and  he  had  their 
efficient  help  in  procuring  subscribers,  as  well  as  in 
getting  the  business  details  of  the  paper  into  work- 
ing order.  So  long  as  the  paper  was  published,  the 
association  stood  by  him,  and  gave  him  its  active 
support. 

"  Be  not  startled  at  my  prospectus,"  Dwight 
wrote  to  Cranch,  "  but  try  to  get  me  ten  names 
upon  it,  and  mail  it  back  to  me  in  a  few  days.  You 
see  I  am  bent  on  establishing  a  journal  of  music 
and  aesthetic  matters,  which  shall  be  my  own.  I  am 
sick  of  writing  off  and  on  for  other  people,  for  unre- 
liable publishers,  etc.  I  propose  to  print  a  small 
weekly  paper, —  say  eight  quarto  pages, —  without 
printed  music,  but  filled  with  notices  of  concerts, 
composers,  musical  publications,  etc.,  essays  on 
styles,  analyses  of  compositions,  with  some  brief 
notices  of  other  arts,  and  a  small  sprinkling  of 
original  poems,  songs,  tales,  etc.  Now  in  this  last 
you  perhaps  can  help  me.  Send  me  a  little  poem 
or  two  of  yours.  I  should  like  one  for  the  first 
number.  I  shall  have  to  rely  on  friendship  for  all 
my  variety,  since  it  will  take  a  year  or  more  to  make 
the  paper  pay  for  itself.  But  I  shall  not  start  until 
I  am  guaranteed  for  one  year  against  debt,  partly 
by  a  guarantee  fund  of  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thou- 
sand dollars  (which  some  moneyed  friends  of  music 
here  are  organizing),  and  partly  by  such  subscrip- 
tion list  as  I  can  raise  in  a  couple  of  weeks  by  these 
papers.     The    Harvard    Musical   Association    took 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL   OF    MUSIC"       149 

the  plan  up  warmly  at  the  annual  supper  (when 
your  note  was  read),  and  are  to  have  another  meet- 
ing about  it  next  week.  If  each  member  will  get 
me  ten  subscribers,  it  will  make  five  hundred  at 
once.  I  shall  want  some  letters,  too,  from  New 
York  about  the  concerts  and  operas  there.  Will 
not  the  spirit  move  you  occasionally  ? 

"  If  you  see  the  Howadji,  can  you  not  enlist  his 
active  sympathies  a  little  in  my  cause?  A  letter 
now  and  then  from  him  on  music  or  other  art 
would  be  a  feather  in  the  cap  of  my  enterprise.  It 
is  my  last,  desperate  (no  very  confident)  grand 
coup  d'etat  to  try  and  get  a  living ;  and  I  call  on  all 
good  powers  to  help  me  launch  the  ship,  or,  rather, 
little  boat." 

The  name  to  be  given  the  new  journal  called  for 
much  of  consideration.  Dwight  objected  to  the 
use  of  his  own  name  as  a  part  of  that  of  the  paper, 
not  liking  to  hear  persons  say  that  "  Harpers  has 
come,"  and  decidedly  objected  to  the  statement 
that  "  Dwight" s  has  come."  Curtis  wrote  him  that 
he  had  submitted  the  problem  to  the  editorial  coun- 
cil of  the  Tribune,  and  that  the  conclusion  was  he 
should  call  the  paper  "  Dwight's  Musical  Journal," 
with  the  sub-title,  "  A  paper  of  Art  and  Litera- 
ture." To  Longfellow,  Dwight  wrote  for  contribu- 
tions and  for  suggestions  as  to  the  name. 

Cambridge,  March  25,  1852. 
Dear  Dwight, —  I  should  have  been  more  rapid  in 
my  reply  to  your  friendly  note  if  I  had  had  anything 


i5o  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

to  send  you  which  would  make  my  answer  agree- 
able. But,  since  I  have  taken  to  writing  long 
poems,  I  have  given  up  writing  short  ones ;  and  I 
find  I  have  nothing  which  I  should  be  willing  to 
publish. 

But  much  more  important  is  the  name  you  may  fix 
upon.  "  Pon  lo  tuyo  en  consejo,  uno  te  dira  que  es 
bianco,  otro  que  es  bermejo,"  says  the  Spanish  prov- 
erb, and  I  have  always  found  it  true.  I  agree  with 
you  in  thinking  the  simpler  the  better.  Why  not, 
then,  say  "  Musical  Journal,"  and  no  more,  without 
troubling  yourself  about  a  second  title  ?  No  one 
can  object  to  that,  I  fancy. 

Speaking  about  this  with  Batchelder  the  other 
day,  I  made  the  same  suggestion  that  the  Howadji 
made.  But  I  feel  your  personal  objections,  and 
now  make  the  proposition  to  retain  only  two  words 
out  of  three.  Yours  truly, 

Henry  W.  Longfellow. 


Finally,  the  name  settled  upon  was  "  Dwight's 
Journal  of  Music :  A  Paper  of  Art  and  Literature." 
The  first  number  was  dated  April  10,  1852,  but  was 
issued  several  weeks  earlier.  This  number  began 
with  the  prospectus,  and  was  followed  by  a  "  Son- 
net to  my  Piano,"  by  C.  P.  Cranch ;  a  short  article 
on  Jenny  Lind's  devotion  to  her  art ;  a  letter  about 
music  in  New  York,  signed  by  "  Hafiz," — in  other 
words,  George  W.  Curtis ;  a  letter  on  the  Music 
Hall  then  beinor  erected  in  Boston ;  and  reviews  of 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC'       151 

books.  Much  space  was  given  to  music  in  Boston ; 
and  the  musical  news  of  Paris,  Italy,  England,  and 
Germany,  was  reported.  The  "  Introductory  "  was 
an  earnest  and  explicit  statement  of  the  purposes  of 
the  new  journal,  in  part  restating  what  has  already 
been  given,  and  adding  some  personal  considera- 
tions which  may  be  given  here,  because  of  its  hon- 
est recognition  of  his  own  strong  interest  in  music, 
and  the  limitations  under  which  he  labored  in  de- 
siring to  promote  its  interests. 

"  Without  being  in  any  sense  a  thoroughly  edu- 
cated musician  either  in  theory  or  practice,  we  have 
found  ourselves,  as  long  as  we  could  remember, 
full  of  the  appeal  which  this  most  mystical  and  yet 
most  human  art — so  perfectly  intelligible  to  feeling, 
if  not  to  the  understanding  —  has  never  ceased  to 
make  to  us.  From  childhood  there  was  an  intense 
interest  and  charm  to  us  in  all  things  musical. 
The  rudest  instrument  and  most  hackneyed  player 
thereof  seemed  invested  with  a  certain  halo  and 
saving  grace,  as  it  were,  from  a  higher,  purer,  and 
more  genial  atmosphere  than  this  of  our  cold,  self- 
ish, humdrum  world.  We  could  not  sport  with 
this,  and  throw  it  down  like  common  recreation. 
It  spoke  a  serious  language  to  us,  and  seemed  to 
challenge  study  of  its  strange,  important  meanings, 
like  some  central  oracle  of  oldest  and  still  newest 
wisdom.  And  this  at  a  time  when  the  actual  world 
of  music  lay  in  the  main  remote  from  us,  shooting 
only  now  and  then  some  stray  vibrations  over  into 
this  western  hemisphere.     We  felt  that  music  must 


152  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

have  some  most  intimate  connection  with  the  so- 
cial destiny  of  Man,  and  that,  if  we  but  knew  it, 
it  concerns  us  all. 

"  A  few  years  have  passed,  and  now  this  is  a 
general  feeling.  Music  is  a  feature  in  the  earnest 
life  and  culture  of  advanced  American  society. 
It  enters  into  all  our  schemes  of  education.  It 
has  taken  the  initiative  as  the  popular  art  par  ex- 
cellence in  gradually  attempering  this  whole  people 
to  the  sentiment  of  Art.  And  whoever  reflects 
upon  it  must  regard  it  as  a  most  important  saving 
influence  in  this  rapid  expansion  of  our  democratic 
life.  Art,  and  especially  Music,  is  a  true  conserva- 
tive element,  in  which  Liberty  and  Order  are  both 
fully  typed  and  made  beautifully  perfect  in  each 
other.  A  free  people  must  be  rhythmically  edu- 
cated in  the  whole  tone  and  temper  of  their  daily 
life ;  must  be  taught  the  instinct  of  rhythm  and 
harmony  in  all  things,  in  order  to  be  fit  for  freedom. 
And  it  is  encouraging,  amid  so  many  dark  and 
wild  signs  of  the  times,  that  this  artistic  sentiment 
is  beginning  to  ally  itself  with  our  progressive  en- 
ergies, and  make  our  homes  too  beautiful  for  ruth- 
less change." 

At  the  end  of  the  year  the  editor  made  a  hope- 
ful report,  saying  that  he  had  not  accomplished 
as  much  as  he  desired,  but  all  that  seemed  possi- 
ble under  the  circumstances.  He  said  that  the 
paper  paid  its  own  way,  but  that  "  the  editor's 
remuneration,  beyond  the  barest  minimum,  is  in 
the    future."     "  When    we    commenced,"   he    said, 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       153 

"  there  were  not  a  few  to  warn  us  that  we  under- 
took a  perilous  and  almost  impossible  voyage ;  but 
there  were  believing  friends  that  helped  to  provi- 
sion and  insure  the  ship.  Our  success  has  not  been 
brilliant;  but  we  have  got  decently  through,  and 
with  such  encouraging  response  from  those  whose 
good  opinion  we  most  valued  that  we  feel  small 
fear  for  the  future." 

The  contents  of  the  paper  during  this  first  year 
were  notable,  as  they  continued  to  be  to  the  end 
of  the  last  volume  published.  The  editor  himself 
carefully,  sympathetically,  and  yet  fearlessly  re- 
viewed the  music  of  Boston  during  the  year.  His 
reports  were  not  mere  newspaper  chroniclings,  but 
intelligent  and  appreciative  studies  of  the  music 
of  the  day  and  the  way  in  which  it  was  presented 
to  the  public.  Next  in  importance  was  the  pres- 
entation of  the  art  of  music  through  translations 
from  leading  writers  and  journals.  In  the  third 
number  began  a  series  of  articles  by  Franz  Liszt 
on  Frederic  Chopin,  translated  by  the  editor  from 
the  German.  A  study  of  Weber's  "  Der  Frei- 
schutz,"  by  Hector  Berlioz,  was  also  translated,  as 
well  as  critical  accounts  of  Berlioz's  latest  musical 
work.  In  an  early  number  was  begun  the  publi- 
cation of  A.  Oulibicheff's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Mo- 
zart," a  work  of  great  merit  by  a  Russian.  This 
was  the  book  on  Mozart  about  which  Dwight 
was  negotiating  with  publishers  the  year  before. 
The  greater  part  of  it  appeared  in  the  Journal 
of  Music,  being  continued  through  several  years. 


154  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

Numerous  other  translations  appeared  from  Ger- 
man, French,  and  Italian  writers  on  music.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  Wagner  was 
mentioned  in  the  first  volume, —  six  months, —  and 
that  much  notice  was  taken  of  him  in  the  second. 
Three  long  articles  were  devoted  to  a  statement  of 
what  was  then  known  of  him, —  his  life,  theories, 
and  music.  No  less  than  three  translations  from 
his  own  writings  were  given,  and  four  or  five  ar- 
ticles by  leading  German  or  English  writers  on  mu- 
sical subjects.  The  same  breadth  and  generosity 
of  treatment  appeared  in  his  other  selections  and 
translations.  In  all  the  matter  of  this  kind  which 
he  published,  his  aim  was  educative  and  catholic ; 
and  it  was  of  a  sort  calculated  to  bring  the  reader 
into  closest  sympathy  with  the  best  in  music,  and 
with  the  aims  and  spirit  of  the  great  masters  who 
most  truly  represented  this  most  emotional  and 
spiritual  of  the  arts. 

The  list  of  contributors  to  the  Journal  of  Music 
was  not  a  long  one,  for  the  editor  was  not  able  to 
pay  more  than  a  mere  pittance  for  even  the  best 
articles.  For  two  or  three  years  George  W.  Curtis 
wrote  occasionally  from  New  York.  So  long  as 
the  paper  was  published,  Cranch  was  an  occasional 
contributor  of  poems ;  and  here  for  the  first  time 
appeared  many  of  the  best  of  his  shorter  pieces. 
Rev.  Charles  T.  Brooks  was  also  wont  to  send  to 
Dwight  his  lyrical  outpourings,  many  of  which 
found  the  public  in  the  Journal.  It  may  be  said 
that  this  paper  was  notable  for  its  poetical  selec- 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       155 

tions,  every  number  usually  having  two  or  three  of 
the  best  short  poems  of  the  day.  Another  feature 
of  the  paper  was  its  correspondence  from  all  the 
music  centres  of  Europe,  and  its  careful  selection 
of  the  musical  intelligence  of  the  day.  From  all 
American  cities  where  there  was  any  interest  in 
music  came  full  reports,  and  several  able  writers 
on  music  were  in  this  way  trained  to  their  work  as 
music  interpreters  and  critics.  One  of  the  most 
frequent  contributors  to  the  Journal  in  this  way 
was  Alexander  W.  Thayer,  who  began  by  sending 
news  notes  from  New  York.  For  several  years  he 
contributed  his  thoughts  on  musical  topics  under 
the  title  of  "  From  my  Diary,"  which  attracted 
much  attention  ;  and  he  came  to  be  known  as  "  The 
Diarist."  A  later  series  of  his  contributions  were 
reprinted  in  book  form.  He  spent  several  years  in 
Europe, —  was  the  United  States  consul  at  Trieste, 
and  published  the  most  important  life  of  Beet- 
hoven which  has  appeared.  He  contributed  to 
the  Journal  more  largely,  and  for  a  longer  period, 
than  any  other  person  except  the  editor. 

Another  frequent  writer  was  Frances  Malone 
Raymond,  who  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Frederic 
Ritter.  To  early  volumes  of  the  Journal  she  sent 
poems,  music  criticisms,  and  translations ;  and  her 
connection  with  it  continued  to  the  end.  She  has 
published  many  volumes  on  music,  including  a 
translation  of  Robert  Schumann's  "  Music  and 
Musicians,"  and  original  works  on  "  Some  Famous 
Songs "    and    "  Troubadours   and    Minnesingers." 


156  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

Her  volumes  of  poetry  include  "  Madrigals "  and 
"  Songs  and  Ballads."  Dr.  Frederic  L.  Ritter  was 
a  contributor  to  some  of  the  later  volumes.  Mr. 
W.  S.  B.  Matthews,  now  the  editor  of  Music,  an 
able  monthly  published  in  Chicago,  wrote  often 
during  the  later  years  of  the  Journal's  history. 

In  turning  over  the  volumes  of  the  Journal  of 
Music  to-day,  one  is  impressed  with  the  variety  and 
high  character  of  its  contents.  Its  excellent  literary 
quality  appears  on  every  page,  as  well  as  the  pro- 
found love  of  art  in  its  musical  form  everywhere 
manifested  by  the  editor.  The  twenty  volumes  in 
which  it  is  bound  make  an  almost  complete  ency- 
clopaedia of  music,  so  wide  is  the  range  of  interest 
shown,  and  so  catholic  are  the  appreciations  dis- 
played. This  statement  will  seem  to  be  quite  out 
of  harmony  with  the  criticism  often  made,  that 
Dwight  cared  only  for  German  music,  and  that  of 
the  older  schools.  It  may  be  granted  that  his  taste 
was  formed  before  the  newer  schools  came  into 
vogue,  and  that  he  was  intensely  German  in  his 
preferences.  It  is  thoroughly  true,  however,  that  in 
his  selections  and  translations  he  took  the  widest 
range,  and  that  he  thus  gave  every  school  an  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  for  itself  to  his  readers.  No  one 
could  have  been  more  generous  towards  Wagner,  for 
instance,  who  occupies  a  large  space  in  the  Journal, 
not  only  with  extensive  translations  from  his  own 
writings,  but  with  the  commendations  of  his  ad- 
mirers. It  is  true  that  the  other  side  is  presented, 
and  that  the  editor  gives  his  own  opinions  honestly 


"DWIGHT'S    JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       157 

and  without  reserve ;  but  let  it  be  noted  that  he  is 
most  generous  in  his  recognition  of  the  music  of 
Wagner  and  of  his  theories.  He  did  not  like  the 
music;  and  he  did  not  agree  with  the  theories,  and 
he  said  so  plainly,  giving  good  reasons  for  his  dis- 
likings.  He  was  a  candid  critic,  speaking  his  own 
mind  freely ;  but  he  was  an  appreciative  and  a  sym- 
pathetic critic,  as  well. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Journal  of  Music 
would  have  been  a  much  greater  financial  success  if 
its  literary  and  musical  standards  had  not  been  so 
high.  The  editor  had  no  gift  for  appealing  to  merely 
popular  tastes.  His  standard  was  of  the  highest 
kind,  and  he  had  no  wish  or  capacity  for  lowering 
it  for  the  sake  of  outward  success.  He  took  the 
course,  undoubtedly,  which  was  of  the  largest  benefit 
to  music,  most  truly  educative  of  public  taste ;  but 
he  appealed  to  only  a  limited  circle  of  readers. 
The  paper  fixed  the  musical  standard,  not  only  of 
Boston,  but  of  the  whole  country ;  and  genuine 
lovers  of  music  turned  to  its  pages  as  to  a  supreme 
authority. 

At  no  time  did  the  Journal  of  Music  give  Dwight 
more  than  the  scantiest  remuneration  for  his  labor 
bestowed  upon  it.  It  tied  him  down  to  a  life  of  the 
severest  drudgery,  to  work  he  did  not  love,  and 
kept  him  from  that  kind  of  work  for  music  which 
would  have  been  to  him  a  delight.  So  scanty  was 
the  remuneration  which  came  to  the  editor  that  on 
two  occasions,  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  the 
Journal  and  again  at  the  end   of  the  fourth   year, 


158  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

the  musicians  of  Boston  gave  complimentary  bene- 
fits to  the  paper.  These  were  cheering  indications 
of  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  those  best  able  to 
appreciate  its  work.  On  the  first  occasion  the 
musicians  of  Boston  said  to  the  editor :  "  We  look 
upon  the  Journal  of  Music  as  an  institution  which 
it  is  the  interest  and  duty  of  all  artists  to  sustain. 
We  owe  it  a  debt  for  mediating  between  us  and  the 
public,  and  laboring  to  raise  that  public  to  a  fuller 
appreciation  of  the  things  we  do  from  our  own 
hearts  and  for  the  love  of  art  rather  than  for  the 
praise  and  money  of  the  crowd.  We  know  enough, 
too,  of  the  world  to  know  that,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  a  musical  journal,  conducted  on  such  high 
principles  as  yours,  though  sure  of  fair  success  in 
the  long  run,  and  not  without  encouragement  thus 
far,  cannot  in  times  like  these  remunerate  its  editor 
according  to  his  labors.  We  artists  would  sustain 
it,  as  in  some  sense  our  common  organ,  as  we 
would  a  temple  or  an  academy  of  music,  as  one  of 
the  public  instrumentalities  for  the  due  furtherance 
of  our  art." 

How  keenly  Dwight  felt  the  drudgery  of  much  of 
the  work  he  was  compelled  to  perform  as  best  he 
could  may  be  seen  from  some  bits  of  his  correspond- 
ence. In  March,  1856,  he  wrote  to  Charles  T. 
Brooks,  in  answer  to  that  friend's  request  for  aid  in 
buying  a  piano :  "  Do  not  despair  of  me  as  a  corre- 
spondent. I  have  not  forgotten  about  the  piano, 
although  I  have  taken  the  benefit  of  your  Uhland 
poem.     A  capital  translation  it  is,  too.     I  must  take 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       159 

a  little  more  time  to  look  about  among  the  pianos. 
For  the  last  two  or  three  weeks  I  have  been  so 
beset  and  harassed  by  my  miserable  Journal — es- 
pecially the  many  matters  thereto  pertaining —  that 
I  could  think  of  nothing  else.  Besides  lack  of 
time,  too,  I  have  lack  of  quiet,  lack  of  clearness  and 
effective .  movement,  lack  of  brains.  These  latter 
seem  to  be  getting  '  muddled  '  in  the  old  cocoanut ; 
but  the  warm  spring  sun  and  running  rivulets  (of 
melting  snow  in  the  gutters)  promise  peace  and 
sense  of  freedom. 

"  I  was  surprised  and  greatly  interested  to  hear 
of  your  '  Faust '  labor.  Verily,  it  must  have  been 
a  great  work  ;  and  I  trust  it  will  be  rewarded.  I  am 
anxious  to  see  it,  and  shall  hint  to  some  of  our  pub- 
lishers. If  Ticknor  relucts,  I  think  it  quite  pos- 
sible that  Phillips  &  Sampson  would  like  the 
glory  of  such  an  enterprise,  and  turn  it  to  profit, 
too,  as  readily  as  anybody.  I  will  speak  to  their 
literary  partner,  with  whom  I  am  well  acquainted. 
Will  you  pardon,  and  yet  have  patience  with,  yours 
truly  ? " 

At  the  very  end  of  the  same  year  Christopher  P. 
Cranch,  in  a  letter  written  from  Paris,  said  to 
Dwight :  "  As  to  yourself,  my  dear  fellow,  I  grieve 
that  you  must  grind  and  grind,  and  still  be  poor;  for 
you  haven't  even  a  poor  painter's  eternal  satisfac- 
tion of  attractive  labor  to  put  in  the  other  scale 
against  poverty.  It  is  a  hard  thing,  if  a  man  must 
make  a  machine  of  himself,  that  he  can't  accom- 
plish a  machine's  work,  and   coin   money  with  his 


160  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

cranks,  wheels,  and  pistons;  for  dollars  stand  in 
the  relation  to  this  incessant  intellectual  grinding 
that  the  future  life  does  to  this.  What's  it  all  for, 
unless  there's  a  crown  of  glory  waiting  for  us?  I 
wish  to  heavens  you  could  step  out  of  your  '  tread- 
mill,' as  you  call  it.  Isn't  there  a  fat  professorship 
somewhere  in  reserve  for  you  ?  That  would  be  the 
thing  for  you.  I  find  it  a  devilish  hard  case  that 
a  man  of  your  powers  and  acquirements  shouldn't 
be  seized  upon  and  chaired  with  huzzas,  and  floated 
over  the  people's  heads  into  some  academic  or  other 
throne.  You  ought  to  have  a  larger  sweep  than 
you  have  with  your  musical,  critical,  literary  broom ; 
and  I  don't  see  why  Boston  and  Cambridge  don't 
open  its  eyes  and  its  purse  to  the  fact." 

In  October,  1856,  Alexander  W.  Thayer  wrote  in 
this  wise :  "  It  will  wear  you  all  out  to  go  on  this 
way ;  and  I  want  you,  at  all  events,  to  get  so  situ- 
ated that  you  can  think  out  your  thoughts  and  give 
them  to  us  fresh  and  full.  Take  up  with  almost 
any  terms,  I  should  say,  at  least  for  a  certain  length 
of  time.     Courage,  if  possible." 

This  refers  to  negotiations  with  Oliver  Ditson  & 
Co.  for  them  to  become  the  publishers  of  the 
Journal  of  Music.  Such  arrangement  was  soon 
made ;  and  with  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  year,  in 
April,  1859,  that  firm  relieved  Dwight  of  the  drudg- 
ery of  being  his  own  publisher  and  office  clerk. 
This  enterprising  and  well-established  firm  of 
music-sellers  and  publishers  took  the  entire  respon- 
sibility of  the  publication  of  the  paper,  giving  to 


"DWIGHT'S    JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       161 

Dwight  the  full  control  of  its  editorial  management, 
leaving  him  free  to  conduct  it  in  his  own  way. 
The  paper  was  to  remain  the  same  in  size,  price, 
and  in  other  details,  the  publishers  adding  such  ad- 
vertising pages  as  they  desired ;  and  they  paid 
Dwight  twelve  hundred  dollars  a  year  as  salary. 
Such  compensation  was  miserably  small ;  but  it  gave 
a  regular  income,  paid  weekly,  and  the  arrange- 
ment enabled  Dwight  to  devote  himself  more  un- 
reservedly to  the  higher  interests  of  his  journal. 
In  announcing  the  new  arrangement  in  the 
Journal  of  Music,  the  editor  said  :  "  Ever  since  we 
started  it  we  have  united  all  the  functions  of  editor, 
business  manager,  clerk,  collector,  and  paymaster 
in  our  own  person.  This  has  been  a  heavy  weight, 
full  of  untold  annoyances,  and  sadly  interfering 
with  the  full  and  free  carrying  out  of  those  very 
editorial  ideals  which  we  had  most  at  heart. 
Neither  in  the  high  sense  nor  in  the  popular  sense, 
neither  to  the  exacting  few  nor  to  the  many  who 
require  '  milk  for  babes '  in  art,  has  our  paper  been 
all  it  would  have  been,  had  cares  of  business  left  us 
more  free  hours  for  thinking  out  and  serving  up  all 
the  right  varieties  of  matter.  Of  this  shortcoming 
no  one  has  been  more  conscious  than  ourselves. 
Our  main  reliance,  meanwhile,  has  been  in  the  evi- 
dence of  true  intention,  in  the  spirit  of  impartial 
loyalty  to  art  which,  we  are  assured,  has  first  and 
last  shone  clearly  through  the  columns,  and  in  such 
not  altogether  hopeless  approximation  to  our  de- 
sign as,  with   the  aid   of   noble    helpers    and    con- 


162  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

tributors,  we  have,  in  spite  of  all,  been  enabled  to 
make.  Now  we  shake  off  the  business  chains,  and 
shall  be  more  free  to  think  and  feel  and  write  and 
seek  welcome  and  instructive  access  to  the  sympa- 
thies of  a  much  larger  circle  of  friends." 

The  paper  went  on  much  as  it  had  done  before, 
but  the  work  of  the  editor  was  easier  and  much 
more  satisfactory.  He  found  in  some  degree  the 
leisure  he  had  desired,  and  the  improved  quality  of 
the  paper  showed  this  result.  The  paper  was  more 
widely  circulated,  and  became  more  truly  an  au- 
thority in  everything  musical.  One  new  feature 
was  the  addition  of  music  to  each  number.  This 
was  printed  by  itself,  and  had  no  distinct  connec- 
tion with  the  paper.  In  selecting  this  music, 
Dwight  exercised  his  superior  taste,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  sent  out  nothing  which  was  not  of  the 
highest  merit.  During  the  first  year  the  selections 
were  taken  from  Mendelssohn,  Schubert,  Bach, 
Bellini,  Wagner,  Gluck,  Donizetti,  Mozart,  and 
Alfred  Jaell.  Compositions  of  length  were  pub- 
lished in  parts,  "  Don  Giovanni "  being  issued  in 
this  way  during  1859,  and  "  Der  Freischtitz  "  during 
i860.  A  considerable  number  of  the  great  works 
were  in  this  way  sent  to  the  subscribers  to  the 
Journal  of  Music. 

A  few  personal  letters  will  more  clearly  indicate 
how  busy  was  Dwight's  life  at  this  period,  and  how 
greatly  he  enjoyed  the  few  days  of  leisure  which  he 
was  able  to  secure  during  each  year.  In  the  sum- 
mer he   was  able  to  get  away  for  a  few  days  to 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC"       163 

North  Conway,  where  his  friend,  Mr.  F.  W.  Chan- 
ning,  placed  a  charmingly  located  house  at  his  dis- 
posal, or  he  went  to  visit  friends  other  few  days  in 
Newport. 

In  June,  1854,  Dwight  received  this  rather  sur- 
prising letter  from  Lowell,  who  said :  "  It  has  oc- 
curred to  some  of  your  friends  that  you  might  find 
your  account  in  establishing  something  of  this 
sort, —  a  bureau  for  governesses.  Don't  you  see  ? 
There  is  a  great  and  constant  demand  for  them, 
and  they  as  constantly  are  asking  to  be  taken ;  but 
neither  wanter  nor  wantee  get  to  hear  of  each 
other.  Now  the  kindly  office  I  propose  for  you  is 
to  take  these  wandering  hooks  and  unite  them 
with  the  forlorn  eyes  that  somewhere  await  them. 

"  Applications  are  constantly  made  to  teachers 
by  both  hooks  and  eyes ;  but,  owing  to  want  of 
responsibility  and  system,  everything  is  at  loose 
ends.  You  could  have  a  book  in  which  the  name 
of  the  applicant,  the  date  of  application,  and  the" 
names  of  references,  etc.,  could  be  entered,  and 
then  act  as  hooker,  receiving  a  proper  commission. 
You  could  advertise  at  first  in  other  journals,  but 
by  degrees  could  make  your  own  paper  the  exclu- 
sive bulletin  for  such  matters. 

"  I  am  certain  from  what  I  hear  and  know  that, 
with  no  great  trouble  to  yourself,  you  might  make 
a  profitable  business,  and  be  thanked  all  round 
into  the  bargain.  I  am  in  an  immense  hurry  just 
now,  but  I  will  only  add  that  character  and  every- 
thing of  that  sort  make  you  just  the  man." 


1 64  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

This  letter  evidently  puzzled  Dwight,  as  it  will 
any  one  reading  it  now,  as  to  how  much  or  how 
little  it  meant.  Probably  it  was  Lowell's  purpose 
to  suggest  something  like  a  "  teachers'  agency,"  and 
that  he  was  quite  sincere  in  the  advice  he  gave. 
No  one  could  have  been  less  fitted  for  such  a  task 
than  Dwight,  and  he  was  already  too  much  occu- 
pied with  similar  labors  to  give  him  peace  of  mind 
or  body. 

"  I  really  am  unable,"  was  Dwight's  reply,  "  to  see 
that  I  have  any  calling  in  the  direction  you  suggest, 
—  or  that  has  been  suggested  to  you, —  unless  it  be 
a  call  to  earn  money  by  any  honest  means  what- 
ever, and  that  with  the  least  possible  squeamish- 
ness.  What  should  have  led  anybody  to  think  of 
me  in  such  a  connection,  I  can  hardly  imagine.  I 
am  altogether  too  easily  bored  (sensitive,  selfish, 
touch-me-not  that  I  am)  to  wish  to  be  any  more  of 
an  intelligence  office  than  I  already  involuntarily 
am,  as  part  of  the  penalty  of  editing  a  musical 
paper.  I  hate  so  much  of  the  personal  go-between- 
ism  even  of  the  musical  world,  and  would  like  (if 
possible)  to  deal  with  that  world  more  at  arm's 
length  instead  of  having  to  personally  meet  so 
many  of  the  music-teachers  and  the  applicants  for 
such.     If  it  came  to  governesses,  what  should  I  do? 

"  I  am  surprised  to  learn,  too,  that  there  can  be 
any  lack  of  such  a  medium.  How  can  it  be  that 
the  wants  of  society  have  not  already  organized  the 
matter?  I  should  think  some  lady  would  be  most 
competent  and  suitable   for  such  an  office.     Why 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL    OF    MUSIC M       165 

would  not  our  sister  E.  P.  P.'s  back  room  in  West 
Street  be  just  the  place  ? 

"  I  should  have  written  and  said  all  this,  in 
answer  to  your  kind  note,  before.  But  first  I  was 
puzzled,  and  therefore  dumb ;  and  then  I  was  busy, 
and  time  flew  unawares.  Pardon  me,  will  you  not  ? 
I  wish  I  might  see  you  in  Boston,  and  our  How- 
adji  with  you." 

In  November  of  the  next  year  there  came  to 
Dwight  this  note  from  George  W.  Curtis :  "  I  am 
engaged  to  Anna  Shaw,  daughter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frank.  Do  you  remember  her  in  Brook  Farm 
days  ?  She  was  a  child  then  :  she  is  twenty  years 
old  now.  There  was  never  anything  that  made 
parents  and  children  happier.  She  is  so  inexpres- 
sibly dear  and  beautiful  to  me  that  I  cannot  con- 
ceive you  should  not  love  her  dearly.  To  outsiders 
she  is  a  superb  and  silent  Shaw:  but  her  heart  is  so 
true  and  tender,  she  is  so  noble  and  pure  and  affec- 
tionate, that  you  will  be  afraid  to  be  the  friend  of 
such  a  Polycrates  as  I.  When  do  you  come  to 
New  York  ?  I  so  want  you  to  see  her  and  know 
her:  then,  of  course,  you  will  love  her.  Give  my 
love  to  your  wife. —  think  that  love  is  not  for  this 
world,  but  forever,  —  and  remember  your  friend 
who  remembers  you." 

To  this  most  confidential  note  Dwight  made 
reply :  "  Happy  friend !  Your  little  note  was  the 
ray  of  sunshine  in  a  miserable,  hurried  week.  All 
of  us,  your  friends  here,  thought  it  the  best  of  good 
news,  especially  I.     Believe  me,  my  dear  friend,  it  is 


166  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

an  event  upon  which  I  can  heartily  congratulate 
you,  and  on  which  I  somehow  unmisgivingly  found 
the  fairest  hopes  for  you.  This  time  I  am  sure 
there  can  be  no  mistake.  I  hope  you  will  be  mar- 
ried soon. 

"You  are  right,  George.  Link  your  destinies 
with  youth.  I  scarcely  believe  in  anything  else  — 
except  Spring  and  Morning.  But,  then,  there  is 
a  way  of  making  these  —  the  soul  of  them  —  per- 
petual ;  and  you  have  the  secret  of  it,  I  am  sure, 
better  than  most  of  us. 

"  To  think  of  that  child,  who  used  to  play  about 
Brook  Farm,  and  make  young  master  Ally  K. 
*  stand  round,'  as  the  boys  say,  and  go  through 
finger  drudgery  under  my  piano  -  professorship, — 
Heaven  save  the  mark!  —  the  child  of  our  young 
friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  S.,  —  how  can  you  think  of 
them  as  parents?  —  being  the  future  Mrs.  Howadji! 
or  I  a  dull  drudge  of  an  editor.  I  do  wish,  indeed, 
to  see  and  know  her,  and  doubt  not  I  shall  find 
your  glowing  statements  all  confirmed,  and  that  in 
your  height  of  joy  you  need  not  be  ashamed  to 
1  blush  it  East  and  blush  it  West.'  There  is  a  cer- 
tain '  Maud  '-like  ecstasy  in  your  note  that  makes 
me  think  of  that. 

"  A  small  bird  had  already  sung  the  news  in  my 
ear.  But  it  was  doubly  pleasant  to  have  it  straight 
from  you.  It  was  good  in  you  to  remember  me 
so.  I  should  have  written  you  immediately  my 
thanks  for  that,  as  well  as  congratulations  on  the 
general    issue,  had   I   not  been  overwhelmed    with 


"DWIGHT'S   JOURNAL   OF    MUSIC"       167 

cares  just  then,  as  I  have  been  since,  and  sick, 
besides.  But  you  know  I  never  did  catch  up  with 
the  world's  flight,  and  you  can  pardon  slowness 
to  the  account  of  constancy.  You  were  always  so 
good  in  trusting  me  through  all  my  silence.  It  will 
be  very  pleasant  to  associate  '  our  George '  with  our 
friends  the  Shaws,  whom  I  have  not  seen  since 
their  return.  Pray  commend  me  cordially  to  them, 
not  omitting  la  belle  Anna.  Would  that  I  might 
see  you  in  New  York !  but  I  must  content  myself 
with  the  not  very  remote  prospect  of  having  you  by 
the  hand  here.  Till  then  believe  me  happy  in  your 
happiness,  and  faithfully  as  ever  your  friend." 

One  of  Dwight's  literary  friends  of  this  period  was 
Henry  James,  with  whose  religious  opinions  he  was 
much  in  sympathy.  Mrs.  Dwight  was  especially 
interested  in  the  thought  of  this  mystic  thinker, 
so  that  Dwight  said  of  her,  "  James  has  a  church 
of  one  member,  and  I  am  the  unbelieving  sexton." 
A  few  years  later  Dwight  invited  James  to  his  room 
to  meet  a  few  friends,  and  received  the  following 
request:  "Don't,  I  beg  of  you,  put  yourself  out  to 
invite  any  one  to  meet  me  to-morrow  night.  Espe- 
cially, don't  invite  any  literary  men  purely,  like 
Holmes  or  Woodman,  who  would  keep  me  from 
talking,  as  they  have  no  beliefs  in  God  or  man ; 
while  you  and  I  live  only  by  such  belief.  If  any 
publican  or  sinner  of  your  acquaintance  would  like 
to  come,  invite  them ;  but  no  saint." 


CHAPTER   VII. 
A   YEAR    IN    EUROPE. 

Early  in  July,  i860,  D wight  set  out  for  Europe, 
to  spend  a  year  in  the  study  of  music  and  in  travel. 
He  left  the  Journal  in  charge  of  Henry  Ware,  a 
young  journalist  of  musical  and  literary  tastes ;  and 
he  sent  to  it  editorial  correspondence  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  absence.  He  made  but  a  brief 
stay  in  England,  spent  seventeen  days  in  Paris, 
rambled  for  several  days  over  Switzerland,  and  then 
pushed  on  to  Germany.  At  Frankfort,  October  7, 
there  reached  him  the  startling  news  of  the  death 
of  his  wife,  who  had  been  ill  almost  from  the  time 
of  his  leaving  Boston,  but  who  had  been  reported 
to  him  as  nearly  well,  when  he  last  heard  from 
home. 

He  wrote  at  once  to  his  brother :  "  Your  two 
letters,  September  6  and  11,  with  many  other  kind 
letters  of  dear  friends,  came  upon  me  all  at  once 
to-day.  I  have  waited  in  Munich,  in  Heidelberg, 
and  here  for  letters  until  now.  The  Paris  banker 
must  have  been  at  fault.  And,  oh,  what  news !  I 
know  not  what  to  say  or  do.  I  must  break  away 
from  this  loneliness.  I  must  get  to  Bonn,  and  see 
Thayer,  and  there  rest  and  realize  and  decide.  I 
take  the  steamer  direct  down  the  Rhine  to-morrow. 
Oh,  with  what  eyes  I  shall  pass  that  lovely  scenery ! 
The  Rhine  !  Dear  Frank,  how  in  my  heart  I  thank 
you  for  your  letter !  It  was  a  true  brother's  letter, 
and  all  you  say  most  wise  and  tender. 


A    YEAR    IN    EUROPE  169 

"  My  life  is  gone  from  me  !  Oh,  may  God  send  her 
sweet  spirit  to  visit  mine  daily,  and  help  me  to  bear 
the  blow,  and  become  more  worthy  to  have  had  that 
beautiful  life  so  long  bestowed  on  me.  No  more 
now.  Thank  all  my  dear  friends  for  their  kind 
words  and  their  kind  acts  to  Mary.  I  shall  write 
to  them  in  time,  but  now  my  eyes  are  dim  and  my 
hand  trembles." 

The  story  of  the  wife's  illness  and  death  may  be 
told  in  the  words  of  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  O.  W. 
Holmes,  who  lived  only  a  few  doors  away  in  Charles 
Street,  to  the  bereaved  husband,  and  dated  from 
Boston,  November  11:  "I  have  been  wishing  for 
many  weeks  to  write  to  you,  but  felt  it  more  fitting 
to  wait  until  I  heard  from  you  through  your  friends. 
I  have  shed  many  tears  over  those  letters  of  yours ; 
and  I  am  sure  by  the  feelings  they  express  that  I 
cannot  intrude  upon  you  by  sending  you  first  of  all 
my  tenderest  sympathy,  and  then  such  few  recollec- 
tions as  I  can  add  to  the  story  you  have  heard  so 
fully  from  those  who  are  now  nearest  to  your  heart. 
I  never  knew  in  my  life  a  more  genuine  feeling  of 
brotherly  love  and. interest  than  this  affliction  called 
forth  from  all  who  spoke  of  it.  Be  sure  that,  with 
the  message  of  grief  which  took  so  long  to  reach 
you,  there  went  many  prayers  that  God  would  give 
you  strength  to  bear  your  great  trial,  that  your  kind 
and  gentle  soul  might  bend  without  breaking  under 
the  blow.  I  think  all  your  friends  feel  that  their 
prayers  have  been  answered,  that  you  have  a  faith 
and  a   hope  which  can  support   you  even  in  this 


170  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

extremity.  May  God  still  continue  to  bless  and 
comfort  you  with  his  presence,  and  may  the  recol- 
lection of  the  sweet  life  you  have  shared  so  long  be 
a  light  in  the  midst  of  this  darkening  sorrow ! 

"  I  was  walking  by  to  Cambridge  Street  one  morn- 
ing, perhaps  a  week  or  two  after  you  had  gone, 
when  I  noticed  that  the  street  for  some  distance 
was  covered  with  tan.  On  inquiring,  I  found  that 
Mrs.  Dwight  was  ill,  threatened  with  a  fever,  if  not 
suffering  from  one.  At  the  house  I  learned  that 
she  had  been  gradually  growing  weak  for  some 
time,  with  feverish  turns,  and  much  nausea,  but  no 
other  very  marked  symptom  that  I  could  hear  of, 
though  I  asked  particularly  for  those  which  I  most 
apprehended.  The  disease  did  not  seem  to  excite 
much  apprehension,  except  for  that  one  symptom 
of  nausea.  Perhaps  I  ought  rather  to  say  that  not 
much  apprehension  was  expressed  by  those  I  saw, 
but  a  cheerful  expectation  of  recovery  appeared  to 
be  entertained.  After  this  I  called  frequently, 
sometimes  alone,  sometimes  with  Mrs.  Holmes,  to 
inquire  after  Mrs.  Dwight.  The  accounts  were 
mostly,  as  I  have  said,  encouraging.  Sometimes 
we  saw  the  servant-girl  only,  sometimes  Miss 
Jenny  or  her  mother.  I  did  not  for  a  while  think 
it  best  to  ask  to  see  Mrs.  Dwight,  doubting  whether 
it  would  be  well  for  her  to  see  any  company. 

"  At  last,  finding  that  she  continued  languishing 
and  suffering  from  nausea,  I  got  uneasy,  and  left 
word  at  the  house  that  I  should  be  very  glad  if  her 
physician  (whom  I  did  not  know,  and  who  was,  as  I 


A    YEAR    IN    EUROPE  171 

was  led  to  think,  a  homoeopathic  practitioner)  would 
call  at  my  house  after  his  visit,  and  talk  over  her 
case  with  me.  The  physician,  Dr.  Newell,  accord- 
ingly came,  and  gave  me  a  full  history  of  all  the 
principal  facts  of  the  case.  He  told  me  all  that  he 
had  done,  which,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  was  essen- 
tially the  right  thing.  It  did  not  seem  to  me  a  case 
for  heroic  treatment,  but  for  cautious  palliations  and 
patience ;  and  that  was  the  way  it  had  seemed  to 
him.  I  made  every  suggestion  I  could  think  of, — 
not  at  all  as  having  any  claim  to  meddle  with  the 
treatment,  but  knowing  that  a  hint  oftentimes 
proves  useful  when  a  physician's  attention  has  be- 
come fatigued  by  long  attendance.  Dr.  Newell 
behaved  very  well  about  it,  seemed  to  be  glad  that 
I  had  taken  it  upon  me  to  make  suggestions  to 
him,  and  proposed,  I  think,  that  I  should  see  Mrs. 
Dwight.  At  any  rate,  he  favored  my  seeing  her; 
and  the  next  day  I  sat  by  her  bedside  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes.  This  was  the  last  time  I  saw  her,  and  I 
know  you  will  treasure  this  last  glimpse  I  had  of 
her  living  face  as  a  fond  recollection. 

"  Mary  —  for  so  I  must  call  her,  speaking  to  you 
now  —  was  lying  with  her  head  raised  upon  her 
pillow,  looking  not  like  herself  as  you  remember 
her,  and  yet  less  changed  than  I  had  feared.  She 
was  much  wasted ;  but  her  look  was  natural  and 
bright,  and  the  tones  of  her  voice  were  cheerful. 
Her  beautiful  hair  lay  loosely  upon  the  pillow  (she 
was  too  weak  for  all  those  nice  arrangements  she 
might  have  cared  for  in  health),  but  she  looked  so 


172  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

sweetly  that  I  would  not  have  that  last  image 
changed.  It  was  of  perfect  serenity  and  all  herself, 
only  shadowy  and  faint  as  compared  with  her 
natural  luxuriance  of  life.  I  did  not  wish  her  to 
talk  much,  spoke  to  her  as  cheerfully  as  I  could, 
encouraged  her  to  hope  that  she  would  be  well 
when  the  cool  autumn  days  had  come,  and  left  her, 
feeling  that  she  might  probably  do  well,  but  that 
she  must  not  be  excited  by  too  much  visiting  or 
talking.  After  this  I  commonly  got  favorable  ac- 
counts. She  had  begun  to  take  food,  they  said; 
and  at  last  every  day  I  was  told  she  was  better.  I 
began  to  feel  quite  easy  about  her.  One  morning 
my  daughter  Amelia  brought  a  bunch  of  fresh 
flowers  from  the  Public  Garden.  'Go  carry  them 
to  Mrs.  Dwight,'  I  said.  '  She  is  getting  better, 
and  they  will  please  her.'  Amelia  went  over,  and 
brought  back  word  that  she  was  in  a  very  critical 
situation, —  that  they  had  thought  she  was  dying 
that  morning.  It  was  a  surprise  and  a  shock  to 
me,  utterly  unexpected.  I  had  become  easy  about 
her,  and  expected  soon  to  see  her  riding  out.  That 
forenoon  I  met  Dr.  Newell,  who  told  me  of  alarm- 
ing symptoms  which  had  appeared.  He  had  called 
Dr.  John  Ware  in  consultation,  a  wise  and  good 
man,  who  doubtless  counselled  whatever  medical 
art  could  do.  But  it  was  in  vain.  Towards  even- 
ing I  called.  The  servant-girl,  who  had  always 
seemed  truly  devoted  and  interested,  came  to  the 
door.  Her  look  told  me  that  I  need  not  question 
her;    but  I  said,  with  a  hesitating  voice,  '  How  is 


A   YEAR   IN   EUROPE  173 

Mrs.  Dwight?'  The  poor  girl  said  never  a  word ; 
but  she  slowly  shook  her  head,  and  on  her  face 
there  was  a  look  that  said  as  plainly  as  words  could 
say  it,  '  She  is  in  heaven.' 

"  I  listened  to  the  sweet  music  which  was  sung 
over  her  as  she  lay,  covered  with  flowers,  in  the 
pleasant  parlor  of  her  house,  by  the  voices  of  those 
that  loved  her, —  I  and  my  wife  with  me, —  and  then 
we  followed  her  to  Mount  Auburn,  and  saw  her  laid 
in  the  earth,  and  the  blossoms  showered  down  upon 
her  with  such  tokens  of  affection  and  sorrow  that 
the  rough  men,  whose  business  makes  them  callous 
to  common  impressions,  were  moved  as  none  of  us 
ever  saw  them  moved  before.  Our  good  James 
Clarke,  as  you  know,  conducted  the  simple  service. 
It  was  one  which  none  of  us  who  were  present  can 
ever  forget ;  and  in  every  heart  there  was  one  feel- 
ing over  all  others, — that  for  the  far-distant  husband, 
brother,  friend,  as  yet  unconscious  of  the  bereave- 
ment he  was  too  soon  to  learn. 

"  I  cannot  help  speaking  of  the  affectionate  care 
with  which  your  Mary  was  encompassed  during  all 
those  weeks  of  illness.  Her  mother  was  tenderly 
devoted  to  her;  and,  as  to  her  sister,  I  do  not  know 
when  I  have  ever  seen  devotion  and  love  carried 
further,  and  that  with  a  gentle  firmness  and  placid- 
ity which  filled  me  with  admiration.  At  the  very 
last  moment  at  Mount  Auburn  I  saw  Miss  Jenny 
standing  and  looking  down  upon  the  last  resting- 
place  with  a  face  as  of  an  angel,  as  she  threw  the 
last  wreath  upon  her. 


174  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  I  hope  all  these  details,  while  they  seem  to  open 
the  wounds  of  grief  afresh,  may  yet  be,  on  the 
whole,  a  sad  kind  of  relief.  Your  great  affliction 
has  touched  all  our  hearts ;  and  there  is  not  one  of 
us  who  does  not  long  in  some  way  to  help  you  to 
bear  it,  and  to  endure  through  that  period  of  ab- 
sence which  must  separate  you  from  your  many 
friends.  My  wife  desires  to  be  most  kindly  re- 
membered to  you,  and  I  need  not  again  assure  you 
that  you  are  continually  in  my  affectionate  remem- 
brance. Thank  you  for  thinking  of  Wendell  in  the 
midst  of  all  your  distractions.  It  was  like  your 
kind  self.     God  bless  you  and  comfort  you." 

Four  days  later  D wight  wrote  from  Bonn,  having 
found  his  friend :  "  I  wrote  you  last  Sunday,  in 
Frankfort,  a  few  hurried  lines  to  let  you  know  that 
I  had  at  last  received  your  agonizing  but  most 
brotherly  and  tender  letter.  I  hardly  know  what 
I  wrote.  It  was  growing  dark :  I  wrote  in  tears,  in 
a  little  dark,  cold  room, —  a  rainy,  gloomy,  cold  day, 
with  but  an  interval  of  Novemberish  sunshine  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  during  which  I  had  rushed 
out  (after  reading  all  those  kind  letters,  as  well  as 
tears  would  let  me)  and  walked  entirely  round  the 
outside  of  the  city,  under  the  trees  that  dropped 
their  brown  leaves  and  their  nuts  upon  me ;  for  the 
cold,  autumn  days  had  come, — '  the  melancholy 
days,  the  saddest  of  the  year.'  I  was  bewildered, 
stunned  almost.  I  could  not  realize  the  terrible 
fact.  At  moments  in  the  walk  my  thoughts  turned 
to  Mary  as  naturally  as  they  did  in  Switzerland,  and 


A   YEAR    IN    EUROPE  175 

wherever  I  saw  that  which  in  my  mind  I  always 
shared  with  her.  Indeed,  she  did  seem  with  me ; 
and  the  kind  words  of  your  own  and  of  the  other 
letters  were  not  without  their  soothing,  cheering 
influence  even  then, —  that  first  bitter  day. 

"  The  heavy  news  had  been  long  in  coming.  The 
letters  seemed  to  have  lingered  on  the  way,  as  if 
conscious  of  what  they  bore,  and  shrinking  from 
their  duty.  So  they  all  came  at  once, —  seven  en- 
velopes :  your  two,  for  which  I  thank  and  love  you 
more  than  ever;  a  most  full,  minute,  kind,  beautiful, 
and  comforting  account  of  all  from  Anna  Parsons 
(to  whom  give  my  love  and  thank  her, —  I  shall 
write  her  soon) ;  a  true,  manly,  tender,  strengthen- 
ing, wise  word  from  Woodman ;  also  from  Fisher 
and  from  Apthorp ;  and  a  most  beautiful  and 
touching  one  from  Henry  Ware, —  all  beautiful 
letters,  making  me  feel  rich  in  friendship,  and  as  if 
dear  Mary,  our  dear  Mary,  were  indeed  still  present, 
very  near  in  the  love  that  unites  us  all.  Dear 
Jenny's  letter,  too,  though  brief,  was  full  of  heart 
and  high  and  tranquil  sentiment,  full  of  cheering, 
strong  belief;  and  every  word  meant  much  to  me. 
How  is  it  with  me?  What  have  I  done?  What 
shall  I  do  ?  you  ask. 

"  First,  Frankfort  was  a  gloomy,  intolerable  place 
to  me.  I  had  only  waited  there  for  letters ;  and, 
though  I  was  sustained  and  calm  that  day  to  a 
degree  that  made  me  wonder  at  myself,  and  seem 
almost  like  heavenly  or  Mary's  influence,  when  the 
short    autumn    day    waned    into    night,    there  was 


176  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

only  grief  and  sleep  to  occupy  its  long  watches, — 
no  human  soul  to  talk  or  sit  with ;  no  light ;  no 
eyes  to  read  or  write  with.  I  got  through  as  I 
could,  God  helping,  and  in  the  dull  and  cloudy 
morning  started  by  rail  and  boat  to  go  down  the 
Rhine  to  Bonn,  where  Thayer  had  several  days 
awaited  me. 

"  All  sense  of  cold  and  rain  vanished  when  the 
good  Thayer  welcomed  me  in  the  little  dark  hotel 
(the  'Swan').  How  soon  he  felt  my  feeling!  and 
so  sympathetically  met  me  that  it  was  a  relief  to 
tell  him  all.  I  have  really  been  quite  cheerful  with 
him ;  and  without  him,  when  he  is  at  work,  I  find 
a  sweet,  sad  pleasure  in  reading  over  and  over  the 
dear  letters  from  home.  They  are  a  real  treasure 
to  me.     Yesterday  I  got  more  of  them.  .  .  . 

"  You  see,  the  second  question  is  already  an- 
swered. That  is,  I  shall  try  to  stay  in  Europe.  I 
felt  at  once  the  wisdom  of  the  advice  of  you  all; 
but  the  first  impulse  was,  the  present  yearning  is, 
—  how  strong  you  hardly  can  imagine, —  to  come 
back  and  be  among  my  friends, —  those  who  loved 
Mary,  those  who,  with  her,  have  formed  my  human 
sphere  and  home  of  life.  I  am  terribly  isolated 
here.  The  difficulty  of  language  cuts  me  off  from 
all  but  necessary  intercourse  with  others ;  and,  even 
if  it  were  not  so,  I  am  so  wedded,  rooted,  in  all  my 
feelings  and  affections,  in  the  familiar  circle  there 
at  home,  that  it  is  all  exile  while  I  am  away  from  it. 
I  felt  it  very  much  so  before  this  sad  news :  how 
much  more  so  now !     My  only  comfort  is  to  peruse 


A  YEAR    IN    EUROPE  177 

the  letters  I  get ;  but  it  takes  many  weeks  to 
answer  and  exchange  words.  I  want  you  all  near 
me.  Spiritual  nearness  I  shall  learn,  perhaps  — 
God  grant  it !  —  through  this  very  trial.  But  home, 
home, —  where  shall  I  again  find  home  ? 

"  As  you  say,  there  appears  no  actual  need  — 
outward  need  —  of  my  coming  home.  The  dear 
home  in  Charles  Street  is  already  broken  up,  and 
all  have  scattered.  This  is  very,  very  sad  to  me. 
It  would  have  been  a  great  comfort  still  to  revert 
in  feeling  to  that  spot,  and  to  know  that  Jenny  and 
Harriet  and  other  dear  friends  still  kept  a  gentle, 
homelike  sphere  there ;  but  I  know  it  was  impos- 
sible. Jenny  must  and  should  be  with  her  mother, 
and  the  old  house  would  be*  a  sad  place  henceforth 
to  them.  We  will  trust  to  God ;  and  all  that  is 
good  and  true  in  past  affinities  and  harmonies  will 
certainly  be  saved  and  reappear  and  recombine  in 
new  forms  (still  the  same  life),  if  not  here,  in  an- 
other and  a  better  world. 

"  I  have  entire  confidence  in  all  that  you  have 
done  or  will  do  in  regard  to  my  affairs.  ...  I  have 
scarcely  thought  of  these  things.  But  one  dis- 
posal occurs  to  me  which  I  desire  to  have  made.  I 
wish  you  to  send  the  piano  to  Grace  Hooper,  to 
use  as  long  as  I  am  away.  She  needs  an  instru- 
ment on  which  she  can  practise ;  and  I  am  too 
happy  to  be  able  to  offer  her  this,  such  as  it  is. 
Any  of  my  music,  too,  which  she  may  like,  is  at 
her  service.  Pray  do  this.  I  certainly  must  keep 
the    instrument, —  it  is  sacred ;    and   I  know  there 


178  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGH1 

is  no  one  with  whom  Mary  would  more  like  to 
have  it  left  in  charge  and  in  use  than  Grace. 

"  Thank  you,  dear  brother,  for  all  the  kind  care 
you  are  taking  for  me ;  and,  believe  me,  I  am,  on 
the  whole,  more  cheerful  and  composed  —  at  all 
events,  resigned  —  than  I  could  have  supposed  pos- 
sible under  such  a  blow.  But  perhaps  I  do  not  yet 
feel  its  full  weight.  I  am  desolate  enough.  The 
coming  days  and  months  and  years  look  dark,  to 
be  sure;  but  I  feel  that  it  is  all  for  the  best.  I 
know  that  it  is  a  blessed  change  for  Mary,  and 
that  she  was  ripe  and  fit  for  it,  and  lives  now  in  joy 
and  peace ;  and  this  alone  ought  to  lend  a  deeper, 
richer,  though  a  sad,  joy  to  my  life.  When  all  of 
you,  who  are  all  afflicted,  take  such  high  and  cheer- 
ful views,  and  find  her  death  so  beautiful,  I  should 
feel  that  I  was  a  hopeless  sinner,  did  I  not  partake 
some  of  the  same  cheerfulness."  .  .  . 

A  few  selections  only  from  his  correspondence 
can  be  given  here,  and  these  from  his  own  inward 
experiences  and  his  music  studies  rather  than  from 
his  delightful  accounts  of  travel. 

"  I  think  I  omitted  in  my  last  to  mention  one 
pretty  little  adventure  which  I  had  on  my  foot-tour 
in  the  Oberland.  Walking  from  the  Grimsel  down 
the  wild  and  exquisite  Hash  Thai,  one  perfect 
morning,  I  stopped  just  below  Guttanen,  in  a  lovely 
pastoral  meadow  or  Matten,  at  a  little  hut,  to  drink 
some  milk,  which  was  as  sweet  as  the  smiling 
promise  of  the  good  woman's  face.  I  sat  at  a  bench 
outside    the  cottage,  resting  myself   and    enjoying 


A  YEAR    IN    EUROPE  179 

the  beauty  of  the  scene.  Meanwhile  my  guide 
had  gone  into  the  house,  and,  I  suppose,  had  told 
the  woman  that  I  was  an  American ;  for,  when  she 
returned,  she  asked  me  if  I  was,  and  then  with 
beaming  face  said,  '  Und  kennen  Sie  vielleicht  den 
Herrn  Agassiz  ? '  On  my  reply  in  the  affirmative, 
she  seemed  quite  delighted.  '  Komm  hier,  hier,'  she 
said,  and  pulled  me  into  the  house,  took  down  a 
large  and  curious  silver  watch  containing  the  in- 
scription, '  L.  Agassiz  to Leuthold,'  and  said 

it  was  a  gift  to  her  good  man,  now  dead,  who  seven 
years  ago  built  the  hut  in  which  Agassiz  lived  upon 
the  Aar  glacier.  She  cherishes  the  professor's 
memory  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm,  called  him 
the  '  best  man  in  the  world,'  asked  me  all  manner 
of  questions  about  him,  whether  he  was  rich,  etc., 
and  made  me  write  down  his  address  carefully  in 
English  and  German,  and  promise  her  I  would  tell 
him  I  had  seen  die  Witwe  Leuthold.  As  I  rose  to 
go,  she  called  me  back  again,  and  ran  to  get  the 
freshest  bunch  of  Alpenrosli  (rhododendron)  she 
could  find,  and  stuck  it  in  my  hat ;  and  with  a 
warm  pressure  of  the  hand,  and  many  blessings, 
sent  me  off  rejoicing.  Was  not  that  a  pretty  addi- 
tion to  the  charming  memoirs  of  the  day  ? " 

From  Berlin  he  wrote :  — 

"  With  leading  musicians  here  it  is  hard  to  have 
much  intercourse.  They  have  very  little  with  each 
other.  No  one  seems  to  know  what  another  is 
about  or  how  to  find  him.  Of  course,  it  would  be 
easier  to  me  if  I  could  talk  German  better.     I  like 


180  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Haupt  the  best, —  the  best  organist,  perhaps,  in 
Germany;  a  thinking,  high-toned,  learned,  non- 
friendly,  wise,  and  cheerful  man,  but  hardly  heard 
of  abroad,  because  he  sticks  to  his  place  without 
ambition.  It  is  just  so  with  Franz.  You  would  be 
surprised  to  find  how  few  Germans  know  anything 
about  him.  I  have  not  heard  a  song  of  his  since  I 
have  been  in  Germany.  Yet  Haupt,  Franz,  Dresel, 
are  the  men  who  ought  to  be  gathered  together 
somewhere,  and  radiate  an  influence,  as  smaller  men 
do  in  Leipzig,  simply  by  virtue  of  their  combined 
position. 

"  One  of  the  kindliest  to  me  here  is  jolly  old 
Wieprecht,  grandmaster  of  all  the  military  band 
music  of  Prussia,  who  probably  knows  more  about 
instruments  than  any  man  living,  and  to  whom 
Berlioz,  Liszt,  and  others  owe  not  a  little  of  their 
fame  as  masters  of  instrumentation.  Taubert  I 
hope  to  know, —  I  admire  his  face  and  appearance, 
—  the  most  perfect  model  of  manner  as  an  orchestra 
conductor.  Bulow,  Liszt's  son-in-law  and  chief  rep- 
resentative, almost  as  good  a  pianist  as  himself  (in 
execution),  who  plays  whole  programmes  of  Bach, 
Beethoven,  Chopin,  Schumann,  Liszt,  and  every- 
thing without  looking  at  a  note  (he  has  a  concert 
to-night),  I  was  once  introduced  to  by  Liszt.  That 
famous  personage  stopped  at  this  hotel  the  other 
day ;  and  I  had  a  half-hour's  interview  with  him,  of 
which  I  will  tell  another  time.  I  must  now  fly  to 
Leipzig, —  a  concert  all  of  Mozart." 

After  a  stay  of  four  months  in  Berlin,  Dwight 


A  YEAR    IN    EUROPE  181 

spent  a  few  days  in  Leipzig  the  first  of  March,  and 
then  passed  on  to  Italy.  He  went  by  the  way  of 
Vienna  and  Venice,  in  each  of  which  cities  he  spent 
a  few  days.  Then  he  visited  Padua,  Florence, 
Turin,  Genoa,  Leghorn,  went  back  to  Florence,  and 
then  on  to  Rome,  which  city  he  reached  the  middle 
of  May. 

Rome,  June  2.  "  I  couldn't  help  going  in  to 
Story's  studio,  who  was  out;  and  I  was  led  from 
room  to  room,  looking  at  statues  while  I  waited  for 
Story.  And  I  sat  a  half-hour  there  amid  his  white 
ideals, —  his '  Cleopatra,' '  Hero,' '  Gretchen,' 4  Beetho- 
ven,' and  last  of  all,  and  really  great,  his  '  African 
Sibyl.'  It  was  a  fine  introduction;  and  it  had 
the  feeling  of  Rome  and  of  home  in  it  to  me,  so 
long  accustomed  to  entire  strangers  only.  Then  I 
sought  him  at  his  house,  and  was  most  warmly 
welcomed.  Mrs.  Story  took  me  out  to  drive  with 
her  two  dear  little  boys,  to  Trevi  fountain  and  to 
St.  Peter's,  and  then  bore  me  bodily,  bag  and  bag- 
gage, up  to  their  Quirinal  Hill,  to  their  home  in 
the  Barberini  Palace  (spacious,  grand  old  place, 
containing  the  original  Beatrice  Cenci  portrait, 
etc.);  and  here  from  that  time  I  have  been  most 
comfortably  and  cheerfully  domiciled,  in  a  spacious 
room,  overlooking  all  Rome,  with  St.  Peter's  loom- 
ing in  the  background.  Nothing  could  be  more 
cordial  nor  complete  than  the  hospitality  of  these 
good  friends.  They  have  made  me  perfectly  at 
home ;  and  I  have  passed  daily  several  hours  in  the 
society  of  Robert  Browning,  and  have  had  several 


182  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

pleasant  interviews  with  Mrs.  Browning,  both  of 
whom  I  like  very  much.  They  have  given  me  their 
photographs.  The  first  evening  I  was  taken  to  a 
little  company,  to  hear  Hans  Christian  Andersen 
read  some  of  his  little  stories ;  and  a  day  or  two 
after  he  came  to  a  children's  party  of  the  little 
Storys,  and  read  to  them.  And  Browning  read 
them  his  4  Piper  of  Hamelin,'  and  then  a  whole 
troop  of  beautiful  children  acted  it  out.  Sam. 
Longfellow,  too,  appeared  on  that  occasion ;  and  he 
and  I  have  hunted  in  couples,  seeing  the  sights  of 
Rome.  Of  these  and  my  many  great  enjoyments 
here,  I  must  tell  you  another  time." 

June  5,  on  steamer  to  Marseilles,  to  his  little 
niece.  "  Did  you  ever  read  any  of  Hans  Christian 
Andersen's  charming  little  stories?  The  other 
day  he  came  to  a  children's  party  where  I  was,  and 
read  some  of  them  to  a  pretty  little  group,  the  little 
Storys  and  their  friends.  How  happy  they  all 
were !  The  two  sweet  little  boys,  '  Bobo '  and 
1  Gudie '  (Waldo  and  Julian  are  their  real  names) 
were  very  eager  to  see  Mr.  Andersen,  and  to  ask 
him  if  his  story  of  the  '  Ugly  Duckling '  was  true. 
So  the  party  was  made,  and  the  tall  man  came, —  the 
tall,  homely  Dane,  the  friend  of  little  folks ;  and  a 
nice  time  they  had  of  it,  I  assure  you.  It  was  in 
the  upper  story  of  a  great  splendid  palace  (Palazzo 
Barberini),  which  looks  off  over  all  Rome.  This 
palace  is  very  large,  all  built  of  gray-white  stone; 
and  very  broad  marble  stairs  lead  from  the  ground 
to  the  topmost  story,  five  or  six  flights.     And  on  the 


A  YEAR    IN    EUROPE  183 

stairs  you  meet  a  great  marble  lion  (an  old  Roman 
work)  and  many  statues ;  and  in  the  palace  live  a 
cardinal  and  a  duke  of  the  Barberini  family.  My 
friends  hire  and  occupy  one-half  of  the  upper  story, 
which  contains  forty  great  square  rooms.  What  a 
grand  range  for  the  children  to  run  and  play  in  ! 
There  was  a  poet,  too,  in  the  party, —  Robert  Brown- 
ing ;  and  he  sat  down  on  the  carpet,  in  the  centre 
of  the  ring  of  boys  and  girls,  and  read  them  his 
4  Piper  of  Hamelin,'  whose  pipe  drew  all  the  rats 
out  of  the  town,  and  the  children  after  them.  And 
then  Mr.  Story  dressed  himself  up  like  the  piper, 
and  tooted  on  a  flute ;  and  all  the  children  followed 
him,  shouting  and  screaming,  up  and  down  the 
long,  long  range  of  rooms." 

After  spending  a  few  days  in  Paris,  Dwight  went 
to  London,  from  which  place  he  wrote  July  6:  "I 
was  very  glad  to  get  the  photograph,  and  liked  it  in 
many  respects  much  better  than  the  first  one,  al- 
though that  has  perhaps  more  of  her  living  expres- 
sion ;  but  this  one  gives  her  beautiful  head,  and  is 
besides  a  finer  picture.  William  Story,  who  seems 
to  retain  a  lively  impression  of  her,  thought  neither 
of  them  did  her  justice.  Oh  that  a  mould  had  been 
taken  from  her  head  after  death !  Story  was  so 
kind  as  to  say  that,  if  he  only  had  that  for  a  guide, 
he  would  gladly  model  me  a  bust  of  Mary.  And 
his  portrait  busts  are  admirable.  One  which  he 
made  of  Robert  Browning  (begun  and  finished  in 
one  week,  while  I  was  there)  is  wonderfully  true 
and  lifelike.     Poor    Mrs.  Browning  was   delighted 


1 84  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

with  it.  Yesterday  I  was  shocked  to  read  of  her 
death,  in  Florence.  Just  as  they  were  leaving 
Rome,  she  had  her  photograph  taken ;  and  she 
promised  to  send  me  one.  I  saw  Cavour,  too,  only 
a  month  before  his  death, —  saw  him  in  full  health 
and  life."  .  .  . 

He  sailed  for  home  on  the  "  Great  Eastern " 
September  10;  but  the  steamer  encountered  a  fear- 
ful storm,  and  after  desperate  efforts  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  coast  of  Ireland,  having  been  almost 
wholly  crippled  for  several  days.  Dwight  landed 
on  the  Irish  coast,  and  found  his  way  back  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  wrote  a  long  account  of  his  experi- 
ences, which  was  published  in  his  Journal. 

London,  October  30.  "  I  feel  strangely  confused 
about  it  [returning  home],  but  presume  it  will  be 
for  the  best.  I  had,  while  waiting  in  vain  for  ad- 
vices from  home,  almost  settled  down  in  the  feel- 
ing that  I  was  to  stay  in  Europe.  I  have  had  the 
impression  all  along  that  my  friends  rather  favored 
the  course,  in  view  of  the  war,  the  want  of  all  music, 
and  of  my  desolated  home,  and  poorer  chance  of 
health,  bodily  and  mental  or  moral,  there  than  here. 
I  confess  my  fear  of  all  this  has  been  growing  on 
me,  and  I  have  been  almost  superstitious  about 
my  being  driven  back  so.  But  tell  Fanny  that  I 
cannot  think  God  would  have  so  inconvenienced 
and  perilled  eight  hundred  people,  just  to  turn  me 
back  from  a  course  I  was  pursuing." 

November  1,  to  C.  P.  Cranch.  "  I  have  but  a 
minute   to    say  good-by !     I    sail    in    '  Niagara '  to- 


A  YEAR    IN    EUROPE  185 

morrow  for  Boston.  I  had  been  waiting  long  for 
advices  from  home,  and  had  about  made  up  my 
mind  that  I  should  stay  in  Europe,  and  was  pleas- 
ing myself  with  the  thought  that  I  should  now  see 
you  in  Paris ;  but  last  Tuesday  came  letters  from 
home,  making  my  return  imperative.  My  publisher 
thinks  the  paper  suffers  by  my  absence,  and  even 
disinclines  to  continue  the  arrangement  unless  I 
come  back.  So  I  must  hurry  home  before  the 
bottom  falls  out." 

Writing  from  London  August  10,  D wight  ex- 
pressed his  pain  and  depression  on  hearing  of  the 
battle  of  Bull  Run  and  the  defeat  of  the  Northern 
army.  '  The  real  feeling  of  the  English  people  is 
sympathy  for  the  North,  and  profound  sorrow  for  the 
war.  They  think  anything  would  be  better  than  to 
fight  one  another.  .  .  .  Since  the  defeat,  too,  the  gen- 
eral opinion  seems  to  be  (and  a  very  obstinate  one) 
that  the  North  will  not  succeed  in  subduing  the 
South.  They  do  not  understand  us,  that  is  plain. 
Pretty  hard,  is  it  not,  to  have  to  read  and  to  hear 
all  this  continually  ?  "  On  his  return  to  his  editorial 
labors,  in  reporting  a  chamber  concert  of  the  Men- 
delssohn Quintette  Club  in  the  paper  dated  No- 
vember 30,  Dwight  took  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
war,  his  hatred  of  slavery,  his  faith  in  the  Union 
cause,  and  his  conviction  that  success  was  certain 
to  come  in  the  end. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
YEARS    OF    TOIL   FOR  MUSIC. 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  Dwight  was  without 
a  home.  He  went  to  his  mother's  house  in  Jamaica 
Plain  for  a  few  days,  and  then,  Dec.  4,  1861,  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  Studio  Building,  Tremont 
Street,  only  a  few  steps  away  from  the  office  where 
his  paper  was  printed,  in  School  Street.  In  this 
building  he  secured  a  study  and  sleeping-room;  and 
he  took  his  meals  at  some  hotel  or  restaurant,  usually 
at  the  Parker  House.  After  this  he  spent  two  winters 
in  Boylston  and  Derne  Streets,  with  his  mother, 
brother,  and  sister  Frances.  On  June  15,  1873,  he 
removed  to  the  rooms  of  the  Harvard  Musical  As- 
sociation, at  12  Pemberton  Square.  From  his  re- 
moval to  this  place  to.  the  end  of  his  life  he  had  no 
domestic  establishment  of  his  own,  no  immediate 
family  circle  around  which  gathered  the  tender  sym- 
pathies of  his  warm  heart-life. 

Dwight's  father  had  died  in  1853,  but  his  mother 
lived  until  1876.  After  the  breaking  up  of  Brook 
Farm,  the  Dwight  and  Orvis  families  found  a  home 
in  Forest  Hill  Street,  Jamaica  Plain.  Dwight  and 
his  brother  Frank,  who  established  himself  in  Bos- 
ton as  an  architect,  were  very  fond  of  each  other, 
and  faithful  to  each  other's  interests.  Frances  E. 
Dwight  was  also  a  member  of  the  family,  and  de- 
voted herself  to  the  teaching  of  music  with  marked 
success.  Here  Dwight  spent  whatever  time  he 
could  take  from  his  work,  and  was  always  welcomed 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  187 

with  delight.  His  family  were  fond  of  him,  and 
took  great  pride  in  his  success. 

If  Dwight  had  no  fireside  of  his  own,  he  found 
a  welcome  place  by  that  of  many  of  his  friends. 
Some  hints  of  his  personal  life  contained  in  his  let- 
ters may  here  be  given,  and  these  mostly  related 
to  his  summer  outings  or  to  his  own  monotonous 
life  in  the  city.  The  first  is  a  letter  to  his  intimate 
friend,  Otto  Dresel,  written  July  12,  1863,  which 
gives  suggestion  of  how  he  often  rebelled  against 
the  drudgery  of  his  editorial  task :  — 

"  It  is  simply  impossible  for  me  now  to  decide 
about  going  anywhere.  If  I  go  to  the  mountains, 
I  shall  wish  to  stay  away  three  weeks  or  so ;  and, 
therefore,  I  should  have  to  get  all  the  matter  cut 
and  dried  for  two  numbers  of  the  '  old  paper,'  which 
I  would  too  willingly  '  stop  '  if  I  could,  without  stop- 
ping at  the  same  time  the  bread  and  butter  and  the 
means  of  travel.  I  wish  I  could  start  off  to-morrow, 
for  it  is  insufferably  schwul  and  sultry  here  to-day, 
and  I  creep  round  sick  and  miserable, —  in  fact,  not 
in  a  condition  to  make  a  journey ;  but  I  shall  soon 
be  better." 

He  went  to  Newport  more  often  than  to  any 
other  place  for  summer  recreation,  and  found  there 
the  human  companionship  and  the  nearness  to 
nature  which  he  loved  with  strong  affection.  A 
letter  to  one  of  his  sisters,  written  Aug.  25,  1871, 
shows  something  of  what  this  brief  period  of  recrea- 
tion was  to  him :  — 

11 1  came  home  on  Wednesday,  having  had  a  de- 


1 88  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

lightful  week  with  the  Tweedys.  Newport  is  love- 
lier, fresher,  sweeter,  than  ever.  Every  day  Tweedy 
took  us  to  drive, —  Willie  James  and  me :  he  is  a 
rare  youth, —  and  I  saw  so  many  old  friends  from 
New  York  and  elsewhere  that  it  seemed  as  if  one 
had  only  to  go  to  Newport  to  meet  everybody  he 
ever  knew.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  half-hour  with 
Nilsson.  Parke  Godwin  and  his  daughter,  too,  I 
saw  much  of.  They  have  had  Nilsson  a  month 
with  them  at  Roslyn. 

"  One  occasion  of  the  rarest  interest  was  hearing 
M.  Athanase  Coquerel,  the  eloquent  Unitarian 
preacher  of  Paris,  preach  in  Brooks's  church.  He 
reached  New  York  unannounced ;  sought  eight  or 
ten  of  his  old  friends  who  had  known  him  in  Paris, 
but  found  not  one  except  Horace  Greeley.  Gree- 
ley advised  him  to  come  to  Newport,  so  associated 
with  the  names  of  Channing  and  Roger  Williams ; 
and  only  on  Saturday  morning  Brooks  received  a 
telegram,  '  The  Rev.  Mr.  Coquette  will  be  in  New- 
port to-night,  and  will  preach  if  desired,'—  Gree- 
ley's bad  writing.  But  Brooks  guessed  it  out,  and 
had  him  domesticated  at  Gardner  Brewer's  beau- 
tiful residence ;  and  the  little  church  for  once  was 
crowded.  Scarcely  ever  have  I  been  so  interested 
in  a  preacher. 

"  We  drove  out  once  to  the  Howes,  and  met  them 
once  at  a  picnic  of  the  new  literary  club  in  Para- 
dise and  Purgatory.  James  Sturgis,  who  is  living 
near  Tweedy,  went  down  with  me  and  came  up 
with  me.     But,  ah!    the  change   from    that   pure, 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  189 

sweet  air  to  Boston  streets  and  dog-day  heat.  I 
was  sick  as  soon  as  I  got  back,  so  that  I  could  do 
nothing,  and  had  to  huddle  my  Journal  out  any- 
how.    I  am  better,  but  still  not  right." 

Music  had  now  become  for  Dwight  the  chief  in- 
terest of  his  life,  and  almost  its  sole  interest.  It 
was  ever  in  his  mind,  and  for  it  he  was  toiling  al- 
most constantly.  Besides  the  work  of  editing  his 
paper,  which  involved  a  regular  attendance  upon 
most  of  the  musical  entertainments  of  the  city,  he 
gave  much  time  to  other  phases  of  the  advance- 
ment of  music,  was  constantly  appealed  to  for  ad- 
vice and  assistance,  and  so  thoroughly  mastered 
his  subject  that  he  came  to  be  known  as  the  chief 
musical  authority  in  the  country. 

At  this  period  Dwight  devoted  much  time  to 
translation.  In  1859  there  was  published  in  Bos- 
ton his  translation  of  H.  Wohlfahrt's  "  Guide  to 
Musical  Composition."  The  same  year  Ditson  pub- 
lished Bach's  "  Saint  Matthew  Passion  Music,"  with 
a  translation  of  the  words  by  Dwight.  He  also 
translated  a  large  number  of  German  songs  and 
poems  for  Ditson,  which  were  published  with 
music.  In  1865  several  of  the  songs  in  Heine's 
"  Buch  der  Lieder  "  were  adapted  to  selections  from 
Schumann's  "  Dichterliebe."  The  same  year  he 
translated  a  number  of  German  songs  to  accompany 
an  edition  of  the  song  music  of  Robert  Franz, 
which  was  published  by  Ditson. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1863,  a  Jubilee  Con- 
cert was  held  in  Music  Hall,  Boston,  in  recognition 


i9o  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

of  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  issued  by 
President  Lincoln.  The  public  announcement  of 
the  concert  was  signed  by  H.  W.  Longfellow,  Ed- 
ward E.  Hale,  James  T.  Fields,  O.  W.  Holmes, 
R.  W.  Emerson,  John  G.  Whittier,  E.  P.  Whipple, 
F.  H.  Underwood,  John  S.  Dwight,  and  others. 
Dwight  had  much  to  do  with  planning  this  occa- 
sion of  rejoicing,  and  much  of  the  work  necessary 
to  make  it  a  success  was  done  by  him.  He  invited 
Emerson  to  prepare  and  read  a  poem  suitable  for 
the  occasion,  in  reply  to  which  he  received  the  fol- 
lowing:— 

Concord,  19  Deer.,  1862. 

My  dear  Dwight, —  I  am  sorry  not  to  have  be- 
thought myself  at  once  of  the  obstacle  when  your 
fine  project  dazzled  my  eyes.  But,  when  I  came 
home  last  night  and  made  some  rude  experiments 
at  verses,  I  saw  at  once  that,  however  alluring  and 
most  inspiring  was  your  invitation  to  insert  my 
contribution  —  if  I  shall  have  one — in  your  noble 
atmosphere  of  music,  yet  this  was  wholly  to  break 
faith  with  my  first  inviters,  the  Fraternity,  to  whom 
I  had  signified  no  dissent  from  their  desire  that  I 
should  join  them.  I  could  heartily  wish  the  two 
celebrations  could  be  combined ;  but,  if  that  is  out 
of  question,  I  fear  I  owe  all  my  duty  to  the  Frater- 
nity. This  is  a  long  note  to  write  about  only  a  pos- 
sible copy  of  verses.  Ever  yours> 

R.  W.  Emerson. 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  191 

Emerson  was  persuaded  to  make  the  effort  to 
give  a  poem  on  the  occasion,  although  he  gave  an 
address  before  the  Parker  Fraternity  on  the  same 
day.  His  muse  would  not  be  inspired  at  his  bid- 
ding, however;  and  two  days  before  the  time  for 
the  concert  Dwight  received  this  note  from  him  :  — 

My  dear  Dwight, —  At  this  hour  you  must  cer- 
tainly print  the  programme  without  my  name,  as  I 
have  had  little  or  no  good  fortune.  Still,  I  flatter 
myself  that,  if  I  should  have  a  good  sleep  to-night, 
—  for  I  am  a  bad  sleeper  lately, —  I  may  even  yet, 
at  the  eleventh  hour,  pray  to  be  admitted.  But  it 
is  too  slight  a  chance  to  be  at  all  waited  for ;  and  I 
am  heartily  grieved  I  did  not  find  the  fact  sooner. 

Yours,     R    w    Emerson. 
Parker  House,  Tuesday  P.M. 

The  programme  was  printed  without  Emerson's 
name ;  but  he  got  a  good  night's  sleep,  and  the 
concert  opened  with  his  "  Boston  Hymn,"  one  of 
his  most  inspired  utterances.  Noble  music  from 
Beethoven,  Mendelssohn,  Handel,  and  Rossini,  was 
included  in  the  programme,  and  some  of  the  best 
singers  and  musicians  of  Boston  joined  their  gifts 
to  make  a  most  inspiring  occasion.  One  special 
feature  was  the  singing,  by  solo  and  chorus,  of 
O.  W.  Holmes's  "  Army  Hymn,"  with  the  fifth  verse 
specially  written  for  the  occasion,  to  music  fur- 
nished by  Otto  DreseL 

The  concert  was  a  great  success  in  the  largeness 


192  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

of  the  attendance,  the  enthusiastic  response  of  the 
audience  to  the  expressions  of  patriotism,  and  the 
delight  with  which  the  final  announcement  of  eman- 
cipation was  welcomed.  The  music  was  fitting, 
and  rendered  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  occasion. 
Dwight  said  of  Emerson's  poem :  "  It  was  a  hymn 
of  Liberty  and  Justice,  wild  and  strong,  and  musi- 
cal and  very  short,  and  in  his  rich  tones  spellbound 
the  great  assembly."  "  This  concert  will  be  long 
remembered,"  was  his  final  comment  upon  it.  "  It 
will  become  an  anniversary.  Whether  regarded  as 
a  patriotic  celebration  or  as  a  strictly  musical  occa- 
sion, it  has  called  forth  more  spontaneous  expres- 
sions of  delight  than  any  festival  that  most  of  us 
remember." 

These  details  in  regard  to  the  Jubilee  Concert 
may  be  justified,  in  view  of  Dwight's  attitude 
towards  the  "  National  Peace  Jubilee,"  held  in 
Boston,  1869,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  P.  S.  Gil- 
more.  Dwight's  attitude  towards  this  great  musi- 
cal festival  was  one  of  suspicion  from  the  first,  and 
of  criticism  to  the  end.  In  this  he  was  thoroughly 
consistent,  and  fully  justified  by  his  own  standard. 
A  monster  celebration,  such  as  the  "  Peace  Jubilee," 
however  noble  the  primary  motive  and  purpose,  was 
to  him  objectionable  in  every  way.  In  the  excess 
of  noisy  triumph  and  shouting  patriotism,  he  saw  no 
real  advantage  to  art,  no  fit  expression  of  its  nobler 
motives,  and  no  just  interpretation  of  its  relations  to 
a  nation's  victories  for  freedom  and  peace. 

He  could  not  conscientiously  give  Mr.  Gilmore 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  193 

the  assistance  for  which  he  asked ;  but  it  was  from 
no  lack  of  patriotism,  no  failure  to  rejoice  in  the 
triumph  of  freedom  and  union,  and  no  want  of  con- 
viction that  music  was  the  fit  instrument  for  giv- 
ing expression  to  the  rejoicings  of  the  nation.  He 
had  already  expressed  his  strong  "  conviction  that 
the  great  thoughts  of  Humanity  and  Freedom,  the 
progressive  moral  instincts  of  the  age,  although  to 
this  day  spit  upon  and  crucified,  are  yet  in  most 
intimate  alliance  with  the  loftiest  inspirations  and 
utmost  refinements  of  creative  genius  and  art, — 
musical  art  especially."  His  objection  to  the  Gil- 
more  celebration  was  that  it  was  not  truly  artistic, 
that  it  gave  no  genuine  recognition  to  music  as  an 
expression  of  the  deeper  sentiments  of  mankind, 
and  that  the  whole  spirit  of  it  was  dominated  by 
show  and  self-gratulation.  Instead  of  being  used 
to  lift  music  to  its  highest  level,  and  to  lift  the 
people  to  the  same  high  elevation  of  patriotism  and 
humanitarian  sentiment,  it  was  conceived  in  the 
spirit  of  the  cheapest  patriotic  boasting  and  the 
most  noisy  musical  demonstration.  It  aimed  to 
please  the  groundlings,  and  sought  for  nothing 
more.  It  may  be  said  that  many  truly  artistic  and 
patriotic  people  gave  it  their  support,  but  considera- 
tions of  a  selfish  and  narrow  character  largely  pre- 
dominated in  its  conception  and  execution. 

In  his  "  History  of  the  National  Peace  Jubilee," 
Mr.  Gilmore  saw  fit  to  treat  Mr.  Dwight  as  his 
enemy,  and  to  speak  of  him  in  a  most  jaunty  and 
insulting    manner.     It    is    not    necessary   to    dwell 


194  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

upon  their  relations  to  each  other,  or  to  point  out 
the  fact  that  the  one  was  a  showman  and  that  the 
other  was  a  lover  of  music  for  its  genuine  artistic 
values.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  Dwight  was 
as  fair-minded  as  he  was  honest  and  sincere,  and 
that,  though  he  opposed  the  Jubilee  from  the  start, 
yet  he  recognized  its  good  features,  and  spoke  of  it 
in  a  friendly  manner.  Of  the  first  day  he  made 
this  report  in  his  paper,  immediately  after:  "  Much 
as  we  disliked  the  extravagance  of  the  plan  origi- 
nally, and  shrank  from  the  boastful  style  of  the  an- 
nouncement of  this  'greatest  musical  festival  ever 
held  in  any  part  of  the  world '  (as  if  greatness  were 
to  be  measured  by  mere  magnitude  and  numbers), 
we  cheerfully  make  haste  to  own  that  the  result  so 
far  has  in  many  respects  agreeably  disappointed  us. 
Upon  the  whole,  a  better  thing  has  been  wrought 
out  of  it  than  a  plan  so  vainglorious  in  the  con- 
ception, so  unscrupulously  advertised  and  glorified 
before  it  had  begun  to  be,  and  having  so  much  of 
claptrap  mixed  up  with  what  was  good  in  its  pro- 
gramme, gave  one  any  reasonable  right  to  expect. 
But  the  wide,  stupendous  advertising  filled  thou- 
sands of  minds  with  an  enthusiasm  which,  if  igno- 
rant, was  entirely  honest.  .  .  .  We  can  only  say  that 
the  success  of  Tuesday  was  in  the  main  glorious 
and  inspiring.  The  vast  audience  was  greatly 
stirred,  delighted.  The  best  effects  were  achieved 
by  the  great  chorus." 

The  editors    of   the   New  York    Tribune  asked 
Dwight  to  write  for  them  a  "  careful,  critical  sum- 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  195 

mary  of  the  net  result "  of  the  concert;  and  he  sent 
them  an  extended  study  of  its  various  features.  He 
fully  recognized  its  pretentious  and  grotesque  ele- 
ments, the  ordinary  musical  capacity  of  its  projec- 
tor, and  the  bombastic  manner  in  which  he  adver- 
tised himself  and  his  undertaking.  He  showed 
how  all  this  repelled  genuine  lovers  of  music  and 
those  with  cultivated  artistic  perceptions.  He 
frankly  admitted  the  good  in  the  concert,  however, 
and  gave  it  much  enthusiastic  praise.  He  pointed 
out  the  incongruous  elements  in  the  programme,  as 
well  as  its  ambiguous  and  pretentious  features ;  but 
he  gave  praise  to  everything  which  could  be  praised, 
and  approved  the  final  outcome  of  the  gigantic 
undertaking.  He  said  that  "  as  an  occasion,  of  a 
new  kind,  of  unexampled  magnitude, —  whatever  it 
may  have  been  musically, —  the  Jubilee  was  a  suc- 
cess. It  has  become  a  splendid  fact,  which  has  to 
be  accepted."  On  the  side  of  the  execution  of  the 
music,  he  said  "  there  was  very  much  to  praise.  In 
the  great  chorus  there  was  far  more  unity,  precision, 
light  and  shade  in  rendering,  than  almost  any  one 
of  musical  experience  could  have  believed  possible. 
And  it  grew  better  as  the  thing  went  on.  It  gave 
one  a  proud  joy  to  know  that  so  many  thousands  of 
singers,  with  only  one  rehearsal  of  the  whole,  could 
sing  so  well  together.  It  told  of  musical  enthu- 
siasm, of  esprit  du  corps,  of  good  native  average  of 
voices,  and  of  talent,  good  instruction,  and  inspiring 
drill  in  separate  bodies." 

Of  the  World's  Peace  Jubilee,  held  in  the  sum- 


196  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

mer  of  1872,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  same 
director,  Dwight  wrote  with  the  same  honest  recog- 
nition of  the  good  and  the  bad  which  it  presented. 
He  saw  clearly  the  personal  ambition  which  di- 
rected it,  and  the  excess  of  zeal  which  presided 
over  its  development.  He  pointed  out  with  un- 
flinching courage  and  keen  musical  insight  the 
reasons  of  its  failure  from  a  high  musical  point  of 
view,  and  yet  he  was  as  sincere  in  recognizing  its 
good  features.  He  devoted  three  long  articles  to 
a  review  of  its  work,  and  they  afford  a  remarkable 
instance  of  what  a  critic  can  accomplish  in  the  way 
of  correcting  the  follies  of  men  of  large  projects 
and  small  artistic  ability. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  year  of  the 
Journal  of  Music,  April,  1864,  it  was  changed  from 
a  weekly  to  a  fortnightly  publication,  the  price 
being  continued  at  one  dollar  a  year,  though  it  was 
soon  after  changed  to  two.  These  changes  were 
the  result  of  the  Civil  War,  its  absorbing  interest, 
and  the  consequent  depression  in  the  artistic  life  of 
the  nation.  None  could  rejoice  more  heartily  than 
Dwight  when  the  war  came  to  an  end,  with  the 
triumph  of  freedom  and  with  a  united  country.  On 
Commencement  Day  of  1865,  Harvard  University 
did  honor  to  those  of  its  members  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  war,  and  especially  to  those  who  had  fallen 
in  the  strife.  The  speeches  of  the  occasion  were 
made  by  General  Devens,  Governor  Andrew,  Presi- 
dent Hill,  General  Meade,  Admiral  Davis,  and 
Emerson.     Poems  were   read  by  Holmes,  Lowell, 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  197 

Mrs.  Howe,  and  Charles  T.  Brooks.  The  music 
was  in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  K.  Paine,  then  the  musical 
director  of  the  university ;  and  he  was  assisted  by 
a  chorus  from  the  Harvard  Musical  Association. 
Among  the  other  pieces  was  a  "  Horatian  Ode " 
written  by  Dwight,  sung  to  Flemming's  "  part-song, 
a  strain  of  simple,  solemn,  noble  harmony,"  as 
follows :  — 

"Integer  Vitve  Scelerisque  Purus." 

Manly  and  gentle,  pure  and  noble-hearted, 
Sweet  were  their  days  of  peaceful  use  and  beauty. 
Sweeter  than  peace  or  days  or  years  is  freedom, 
Thought  our  young  heroes. 

War's  wild  alarm  drove  sleep  from  every  pillow ; 
Slavery,  rampant,  stalked  athwart  the  broad  land. 
Prompt  at  the  call  of  Country  and  of  Duty, 
Flew  the  young  heroes. 

Darkly  the  clouds  hung  o'er  a  doubtful  conflict : 
Out  shone  the  rainbow, —  Liberty  to  all  Men  ! 
Lo !  now  a  Country  grand  enough  to  die  for ! 
Peace  to  our  heroes  ! 

Rear  we  for  them  no  cold  sepulchral  marble  : 
Fresh  in  our  hearts  their  very  selves  are  living, 
Dearer  and  nearer  now, —  e'en  as  God  is  nearest, — 
Risen  in  glory  ! 

Cease  from  thy  weeping,  rise,  O  Alma  Mater ! 
Count  thy  young  heroes  tenderly  and  proudly ; 
Beaming  thine  eyes,  with  holy  joy  confess  them : 
These  are  thy  children  ! 


1 98  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

On  March  26,  1870,  Dwight  gave  a  lecture  on 
"  Music  in  Relation  to  Culture  and  the  Religious 
Sentiment,"  in  the  "  Horticultural  Hall  Sunday 
Afternoon  Lectures."  Among  the  other  lecturers 
in  the  course  were  John  Weiss,  O.  B.  Frothing- 
ham,  T.  W.  Higginson,  Samuel  Longfellow,  Julia 
Ward  Howe,  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  David  A.  Wasson, 
William  H.  Channing,  and  Wendell  Phillips.  A 
few  days  later  the  secretary  of  the  lecture  course 
wrote  him,  "  The  reports  of  your  lecture  on  music 
have  awakened  so  general  an  interest  in  it  that  we 
are  thinking  of  inviting  you  to  repeat  it  some  week- 
day afternoon,  at  such  time  as  shall  suit  your  con- 
venience." A  request  for  its  repetition,  in  behalf 
of  those  who  were  not  able  to  hear  it,  was  sent  to 
him,  signed  by  O.  W.  Holmes,  J.  R.  Lowell,  James 
B.  Thayer,  William  I.  Thorndike,  G.  S.  Hillard, 
Samuel  Longfellow,  F.  H.  Underwood,  and  others. 
In  response  to  these  requests  the  lecture  was  re- 
peated on  May  6.  The  next  day  Dwight  received 
the  following  letter  from  one  of  the  leaders  of 
musical  interest  in  Boston  :  — 

"  I  listened  to  your  lecture  with  an  interest  that 
would  not  have  flagged  if  you  had  given  us  three 
hours  instead  of  one.  It  is  so  far  the  best  thing 
that  one  might  say  it  is  the  only  thing  that  has 
been  said  about  music  on  this  side  of  the  water. 
My  only  complaint  is  that  you  turned  over  too 
many  pages.  You  had  there  material  for  at  least 
three  lectures.  Now  why  cannot  you  give  it  all  to 
us,  without  abridgement,  in    the   Atlantic?     They 


YEARS    OF   TOIL   FOR    MUSIC  199 

would  pay  you  for  three  articles  as  readily  as  for 
one.  Divide  thus,  for  instance :  I.  The  story  of 
the  coming-in  among  us  of  the  true  thing,  its  rela- 
tions to  the  new  growth  of  culture  and  religion, 
a  fuller  sketch  of  the  old  Odeon  days,  before  the 
musical  recollections  of  many  of  us,  with  perhaps  a 
reference  to  what  George  Curtis  has  also  said  about 
them,  already  made  in  the  Journal.  And  so  on 
down  to  the  present,  with  its  great  smoke  without, 
and  its  hot  fire  at  the  heart, —  its  display,  egotism, 
vanity,  and  mercenary  sordidness,  but,  by  contrast, 
the  real  feeling  at  the  bottom.  II.  The  scope  and 
importance  of  music  as  culture  and  religion,  which 
would  comprise  the  bulk  of  what  you  read  last 
night.  III.  The  intrinsic  qualities  which  make  it 
so  important,  which  would  give  an  opportunity  for 
all  that  you  desire  to  say  about  the  structure  of 
fugue  and  symphony  and  other  forms,  as  well  as 
for  the  analysis  which  you  did  not  give  us  of  repre- 
sentative works,  such  as  the  '  Passion  Music  '  and 
the  '  Choral  Symphony.'  It  is  time  for  you  to  go 
to  Fields  with  a  manuscript  of  '  Musical  Essays,  1st 
series';  but  meanwhile  the  three  Atlantic  articles 
will  not  be  amiss." 

The  lecture  was  published  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly 
during  1870,  the  first  part  appearing  in  Septem- 
ber, under  the  title  of  "  Music  a  Means  of  Culture," 
and  the  second  part  in  December,  as  "  The  Intel- 
lectual Influence  of  Music." 

In  1879  came  another  change  in  the  career  of  the 
Journal  of  Music.      From  the   first    the    publisher 


200  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DVVIGHT 

and  the  editor  were  not  wholly  in  harmony  as  to 
the  best  method  of  conducting  the  paper.  It  was 
the  publisher's  wish  to  make  it  popular  and  a  help 
to  his  business  interests.  The  editor  was  strictly 
concerned  for  the  good  of  music  as  an  art,  his  liter- 
ary aim  was  high,  and  he  was  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  popular  tendencies  of  the  musical  profession. 
With  the  trade  interests  of  the  publisher  he  had  no 
sympathy,  and  he  was  not  willing  to  make  any  con- 
cessions in  that  behalf.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  he  had  made  many  sacrifices  for 
the  sake  of  pushing  the  claims  of  music  as  an 
art,  that  he  had  a  salary  of  only  one  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year  after  the  paper  became  a  fortnightly,  and 
that  he  had  steadily  held  to  his  high  aims  against 
many  discouragements.  The  cost  of  fidelity  to  his 
ideals  was  borne  by  himself  without  complaint. 

In  July,  1878,  Dwight  received  from  Oliver  Ditson 
&  Co.,  his  publishers,  a  letter  in  which  they  notified 
him  of  their  wish  to  change  the  character  of  the 
Journal  of  Music,  making  it  more  popular,  and 
using  it  to  further  their  publishing  interests.  Upon 
consultation  with  several  of  his  friends,  they  advised 
against  the  proposed  change ;  and  Longfellow  took 
the  lead  in  finding  another  publisher  and  securing 
a  guarantee  fund  that  would  enable  the  paper  to  go 
on  under  better  auspices.  It  was  arranged  that 
Houghton,  Osgood  &  Co.  should  undertake  the 
publication. 

After  twenty  years  of  connection  with  a  great 
music-publishing  house  the  Journal  severed  its  re- 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  201 

lations  therewith  at  the  end  of  the  year  1878.  The 
new  arrangement  was  announced  in  the  number  for 
August  31,  in  which  the  editor  said,  "  We  make  few 
promises, —  only  this  one  in  fact,  that  we  shall  do 
all  in  our  power  to  keep  the  Journal  true  to  the 
character  and  name  it  has  so  long  maintained  both 
in  this  country  and  abroad.  In  renouncing  all  con- 
nection, all  appearance  even  of  identity  of  interests, 
with  the  music  trade  in  any  of  its  representatives  or 
branches,  our  Journal  offers  a  new  guarantee  — 
were  any  needed  — of  fearless  honesty  and  indepen- 
dence in  its  views  and  criticisms.  We  wish  to  add 
to  its  contents  new  elements, —  the  contributions  of 
younger  minds,  as  well  as  of  mature  experience, — 
and  this  we  shall  do  just  so  far  as  we  shall  be  en- 
abled by  the  prompt  support  and  patronage  for 
which  we  look  to  friends  of  Art  and  lovers  of  the 
best  in  Music." 

The  paper  was  now  a  fortnightly  of  eight  pages, 
published  at  two  and  a  half  dollars  a  year;  but  it 
presented  an  attractive  appearance,  and  the  con- 
tents were  much  improved.  The  old  contributors 
remained,  and  new  ones  were  secured.  It  was  the 
plan  to  secure  articles  of  first-class  value  and  in- 
terest from  leading  writers  on  literary  and  artistic 
subjects.  The  first  number  opened  with  a  poem 
by  C.  P.  Cranch,  which  was  followed  by  a  musical 
article  from  the  pen  of  William  F.  Apthorp.  This 
was  succeeded  by  a  study  of  Chopin  from  the  pen 
of  Fanny  Raymond  Ritter,  and  to  the  book  reviews 
Francis  H.  Underwood  was  a  contributor.      In  sue- 


202  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

ceeding  numbers  there  were  articles,  poems,  or  book 
reviews  by  Julia  Ward  Howe,  T.  G.  Appleton, 
Stuart  Sterne,  Frederic  Louis  Ritter,  and  William 
M.  Hunt.  The  paper  was  now  abler  in  its  manage- 
ment, had  a  greater  variety  of  contents,  and  was  bet- 
ter calculated  to  serve  the  higher  interests  of  music 
than  ever  before. 

It  was  soon  evident,  however,  that  the  public 
was  not  ready  to  support  such  a  paper  as  the  edi- 
tor was  trying  to  make.  The  plan  of  paid  con- 
tributors had  to  be  given  up,  and  the  editor  had  to 
fall  back  upon  his  own  resources.  There  was  a 
considerable  loss  the  first  year,  but  this  was  greatly 
reduced  the  second.  In  December,  1880,  the  friends 
of  the  editor  and  the  paper  gave  them  a  testimonial 
concert.  A  testimonial  committee  was  organized, 
of  which  John  P.  Putnam  was  chairman,  Francis  H. 
Underwood  secretary,  and  A.  Parker  Browne  treas- 
urer. This  committee  addressed  Dwight  the  fol- 
lowing letter :  — 

,,      T  o     t-v  Boston.  Nov.  ic,  1880. 

Mr.  John  S.  Dwight:  °' 

Dear  Sir, —  A  number  of  your  friends,  who  re- 
member your  long  and  faithful  services  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  of  music,  and  who  are  deeply  grateful 
that  it  has  been  permitted  to  you  to  accomplish  so 
much  in  elevating  the  standard  of  public  perform- 
ances and  in  refining  the  public  taste,  have  deter- 
mined to  offer  you  a  Testimonial  Concert  to  be 
given  on  a  fitting  scale,  early  in  the  coming  month, 
at  the  Boston  Music  Hall.     They  respectfully  ask 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  203 

your  acceptance  of  the  compliment,  with  their 
united  good  will  and  affection,  and  with  best  wishes 
for  your  continued  health  and  usefulness  :  — 

R.  E.  Apthorp,  W.   F.  Apthorp,  L.  B.  Barnes, 

F.  P.  Bacon,  W.  P.  Blake,  J.  Bradlee,  A.  P.  Browne, 

G.  H.  Chickering,  E.  H.  Clement,  C.  P.  Curtis, 
Oliver  Ditson,  E.  S.  Dodge,  L.  C.  Elson,  Julius 
Eichberg,  Augustus  Flagg,  John  Fiske,  Arthur  W. 
Foote,  L.  L.  Holden,  H.  L.  Higginson,  F.  H.  Jenks, 
G.  P.  King,  H.  W.  Longfellow,  B.  J.  Lang,  S.  W. 
Langmaid,  H.  K.  Oliver,  Carl  Priifer,  George  L. 
Osgood,  H.  W.  Pickering,  John  P.  Putnam,  J.  C.  D. 
Parker,  Ernst  Perabo,  Charles  C.  Perkins,  John 
K.  Paine,  LeBaron  Russell,  Arthur  Reed,  Henry 
M.  Rogers,  S.  B.  Schlesinger,  W.  H.  Sherwood, 
James  Sturgis,  A.  J.  C.  Sowdon,  S.  L.  Thorndike, 
F.  H.  Underwood,  R.  C.  Waterston,  Henry  B. 
Williams,  B.  E.  Woolf,  Henry  Ware,  L.  Weissbein, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Erving  Winslow,  Carl  Zer- 
rahn. 

Dwight's  reply  was  in  these  words,  his  letter 
being  given  in  full,  and  not  in  the  abbreviated  form 
as  printed  on  the  circular  of  the  committee :  — 

Boston,  Nov.  16,  1880. 
To  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Putnam,  Chairman,  etc.: 

Gentlemen, —  Your  kind  and  courteous  offer 
touches  me  deeply,  and  demands  fitter  answer  than 
I  know  how  to  make.  Such  a  recognition  —  en- 
tirely spontaneous,  unexpected,   and  undreamed  of 


204  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

on  my  own  part  —  of  my  poor  persistent  labors  to 
convince  others  of  the  beauty  and  the  holiness  of 
the  Art  which  I  have  always  loved,  and  always  shall 
love,  comes  upon  me  as  an  exquisite  surprise. 
After  many  periods  of  misgiving,  many  fears  that 
the  old  tree  had  proved  fruitless  after  all,  this  comes 
to  revive  hope  and  motive,  and  give  me,  as  it  were, 
the  sense  of  a  new  life, —  at  all  events,  to  encourage 
me  to  attempt  yet  further  and  —  let  us  hope  —  bet- 
ter work. 

I  am  sure  I  understand  you,  gentlemen.  What 
you  would  honor  in  me  is  simply  the  high  purpose, 
the  honesty,  and  the  consistent  perseverance  of  my 
course.  To  this,  and  to  nothing  more,  can  I  lay 
claim.  When  my  work  began,  music  was  esteemed 
at  its  true  worth  by  very  few  among  us.  I  simply 
preached  the  faith  that  was  in  me.  Now  we  are 
almost  a  musical  people.  Those  who  come  forward 
now  learn  music  as  it  should  be  learned,  learn  to 
speak  of  it  with  knowledge, —  the  knowledge  that 
comes  of  practice, —  and  will  readily  outstrip  me. 
What  more  could  I  desire  ?  There  is  a  lesson  in 
all  this  which  every  young  man  should  take  to 
heart :  it  is  that  every  worthy,  independent,  honest, 
work,  persisted  in,  in  spite  of  neglect  and  abuse 
and  years  of  seeming  failure,  is  sure  of  recognition 
all  the  sweeter  in  the  end. 

To  a  committee  so  largely  representative  of  the 
best  elements  of  the  musical  profession,  of  the  best 
and  wisest  friends  of  music,  as  well  as  of  the  hon- 
ored names  of  dear  old  Boston,  and  for  the  prof- 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  205 

fered  Concert,  which  in  such  hands  is  sure  to  be  a 
noble  one,  I  can  never  be  too  grateful.  But  let  me 
come  to  the  point  at  once,  and  simply  say  that  I 
most  thankfully  accept  the  compliment  you  offer. 

I  am  respectfully  and  cordially  yours, 

John  S.  Dwight. 

This  concert  was  held  in  Music  Hall  on  Thurs- 
day afternoon,  Dec.  9,  1880,  and  was  in  every  way 
a  success.  A  large  number  of  musicians  volun- 
teered their  services,  including  many  not  named 
on  the  committee.  The  use  of  Music  Hall  was 
given,  without  charge,  for  the  occasion,  as  well 
as  the  pianos  and  printing.  The  programme  in- 
cluded Beethoven's  "  Fifth  Symphony,"  Schubert's 
"  Twenty-third  Psalm,"  a  concerto  from  Bach, 
Schumann's  Concert-stueck,  a  selection  from  Beet- 
hoven's "  Fidelio,"  and  an  overture  from  Mendels- 
sohn. This  concert  awakened  great  enthusiasm 
among  the  musicians  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  it  was 
largely  attended,  and  the  occasion  proved  an  ova- 
tion to  one  who  had  toiled  for  musicians  so  many 
years.  It  proved  to  him  that  his  work  was  appreci- 
ated, and  that  there  were  many  people  ready  to  do 
him  honor.  The  committee  was  able  to  put  into 
Dwight's  hand  the  sum  of  $6,000  as  the  result  of 
the  concert  and  the  contributions  of  his  friends. 

Of  this  concert  Dwight  said  in  the  Journal  of 
Music :  "  Greetings  and  warmest  signs  of  recogni- 
tion, kindliest  notes  of  sympathy  (often  from  most 


2o6  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

unexpected  quarters),  prompt,  enthusiastic  offers  of 
musical  service  in  any  concert  that  might  be  ar- 
ranged, poured  in  upon  the  editor,  who  all  at  once 
found  himself  the  object  of  unusual  attention. 
Hand  and  heart  were  offered  wherever  he  met  an 
old  acquaintance.  Everybody  seemed  full  of  the 
bright  idea  that  had  struck  somebody  just  in  the 
nick  of  time.  We  never  knew  we  had  so  many 
friends  .  .  .  who,  through  the  press,  as  well  as  by 
voice  and  pen  in  private,  created  an  interest  in 
others,  and  helped  to  organize  the  plan  so  beauti- 
fully realized  on  Thursday  of  last  week.  .  .  .  For 
such  a  testimonial,  so  sincere  and  hearty  in  the  in- 
ception, so  admirably  prepared,  with  such  consum- 
mate tact  and  delicacy,  so  beautiful,  resplendent  in 
the  full  flower,  and  so  fraught  with  solid  tokens  of 
esteem  and  friendship,  we  can  hardly  trust  our- 
self  to  find  fit  words  of  thanks.  We  accept 
it  both  with  pride  and  with  humility,  for  it  is  a 
formidable  thought  to  us  that  we  seem  now  more 
than  ever  bound  to  go  on  trying  (perhaps  in 
vain)  to  perform  any  service  that  shall  in  any  de- 
gree vindicate  the  faith  which  hosts  of  friends  have 
in  this  touching  way  reposed  in  us. 

"But,  leaving  all  we  wished  to  say  to  be  im- 
agined, as  it  readily  will  be  in  a  social  and  musical 
atmosphere  so  sympathetic  as  this  in  which  we  just 
now  have  the  happiness  to  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being  (although  it  seems  like  passive  dream- 
ing), let  us  come  at  once  to  the  concert  itself, 
which  was  in  every  way  a  signal,  memorable  sue- 


YEARS    OF   TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  207 

cess,  and  which  we  flatter  ourself  we  could  and 
did  appreciate  about  as  keenly  as  any  other  man  or 
woman  in  that  great  and  really  distinguished  audi- 
ence. Both  programme  and  performance  were  of 
so  exceptionally  fine  a  character  as  to  claim  special 
mention  among  the  many  good  things  we  have 
heard  or  shall  hear  this  winter.  Never  was  a 
finer  programme,  either  intrinsically  or  in  its  fit- 
ness for  the  occasion,  presented  in  Boston ;  never 
a  more  conscientious  con  amore  rendering,  seldom 
one  with  finer  means,  and  all  by  artists  who  had 
kindly,  eagerly,  offered  their  co-operation  freely,  in- 
cluding the  orchestra  of  the  Harvard  Symphony 
Concerts,  with  Mr.  Carl  Zerrahn,  conductor,  and 
Mr.  Bernhard  Listemann,  violin  leader,  besides 
a  small  army  of  our  best  vocalists,  pianists,  violin- 
ists, more  than  could  possibly  find  place  in  a  single 
concert.  .  .  .  Now  was  not  that  a  concert  to  be  re- 
membered all  one's  life  ?  " 

As  Dwight  seems  in  some  measure  to  have  an- 
ticipated, the  continued  effort  proved  to  be  in  vain. 
In  the  number  of  the  Journal  f or  July  16,  1881,  he 
announced  that  one  more  number  would  bring  the 
paper  to  an  end,  and  said :  "  Instead  of  the  prom- 
ised increase,  the  income  from  subscribers  and 
from  advertisers  has  fallen  off,  showing  for  the  first 
half  of  the  year  a  serious  loss,  which  falls  entirely  on 
the  editor  himself,  who  has  no  heart  to  ask  or  to  ac- 
cept any  further  guarantee  from  friends.  Prudence 
counsels  him  that  it  is  better  to  stop  now  than  to 
risk  double  loss  by  letting  the  paper  run  on  to  the 
end  of  the  year." 


208  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

From  all  sides  came  the  warmest  expressions  of 
sympathy,  and  regret  that  the  Journal  of  Music 
should  be  at  last  obliged  to  give  up  its  brave 
struggle.  There  was  the  warmest  recognition  from 
the  press  of  the  country  of  its  able  efforts  to  further 
the  cause  of  music,  mingled  with  some  criticism  of 
the  editor's  conservative  attitude.  The  last  number 
of  Dwighfs  Journal  of  Music  bore  date  of  Sept. 
3,  1 88 1.  In  his  valedictory  article  the  editor 
said  that  he  was  convinced  there  was  no  real 
demand  in  the  country  for  a  high-class  journal 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  music ;  and  he  spoke  of 
the  severe  competition  which  made  the  publication 
of  such  a  journal  impossible,  of  the  fact  that  musical 
criticism  was  presented  in  the  daily  and  weekly 
papers  to  an  extent  which  satisfied  most  people,  and 
of  the  wide  diffusion  of  musical  knowledge  since  he 
began  his  work.  Parts  of  this  final  estimate  of  his 
editorial  labors  make  it  clearer  than  anything  else 
he  ever  wrote  what  were  Dwight's  ideals,  and  what 
the  task  which  he  set  before  him,  at  which  he  had 
labored  for  so  many  years. 

"  There  is  no  putting  out  of  sight  the  fact,"  he 
wrote,  in  discussing  the  causes  why  it  was  desirable 
to  discontinue  the  paper,  and  why  he  had  grown 
weary  of  his  task,  "  that  the  great  themes  for  dis- 
cussion, criticism,  literary  exposition  and  descrip- 
tion, which  inspired  us  in  this  journal's  prime,  the 
master  works  and  character  and  meaning  of  the 
immortal  ones,  like  Bach  and  Handel,  Mozart, 
Beethoven,  Schubert,  and  the  rest,  although  they 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  209 

cannot  be  exhausted,  yet  inevitably  lose  the  charm 
of  novelty.  .  .  .  The  thoughts  we  then  insisted  on 
from  inmost  conviction,  with  a  zeal  for  inciting 
others  to  seek,  and  helping  others  to  appreciate  the 
divine  power  and  beauty  and  great  meaning  of 
those  inspired  art  creations,  are  now  become  the 
common  property  of  all  the  world.  Of  course,  we 
never  owned  them ;  but  we  felt  them,  and  endeavored, 
somewhat  successfully  within  a  narrow,  slowly  wid- 
ening circle,  to  make  others  feel  their  truth.  All 
true  thought,  truly  stated,  inevitably  crumbles  in  the 
course  of  time  into  the  smallest  current  coin.  Lack- 
ing the  genius  to  make  the  old  seem  new,  we  can- 
didly confess  that  what  now  challenges  the  world 
as  new  in  music  fails  to  stir  us  to  the  same  depths 
of  soul  and  feeling  that  the  old  masters  did,  and 
doubtless  always  will.  Startling  as  the  new  com- 
posers are,  and  novel,  curious,  brilliant,  beautiful 
at  times,  they  do  not  inspire  us  as  we  have  been  in- 
spired before,  and  do  not  bring  us  nearer  heaven. 
We  feel  no  inward  call  to  the  proclaiming  of  the 
new  gospel.  We  have  tried  to  do  justice  to  these 
works  as  they  have  claimed  our  notice,  and  have 
omitted  no  intelligence  of  them  which  came  within 
the  limits  of  our  columns ;  but  we  lack  motive  for 
entering  their  doubtful  service,  we  are  not  ordained 
their  prophet.  If  these  had  been  enthroned  the 
Dii  majores  of  the  musical  Olympus,  and  there  had 
been  no  greater  gods;  if  the  contributions  of  the 
past  thirty  years  to  musical  production  were  the 
whole  of  music,- —  we  never  should  have  dreamed  of 


210  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

establishing  a  musical  journal,  nor  would  music 
have  been  able  to  seduce  us  from  other  paths,  in 
which,  by  persevering,  we  might  possibly  have  done 
more  good.  It  may  be  all  a  prejudice,  perhaps  we 
are  one-sided,  perhaps  too  steady  contemplation  of 
the  glory  of  the  great  age  has  seared  our  eyeballs 
for  the  modern  splendors ;  but  we  prefer  to  leave 
these  and  their  advocacy  '  to  whom  it  may  concern.' 
Doubtless  here  is  one  secret  of  much  of  the  indiffer- 
ence to  this  journal :  the  '  disciples  of  the  newness ' 
feel  that  it  has  not  been  in  sympathy  with  what 
they  would  call  the  new  musical  spirit  of  the  times, 
and  innocent  inquirers  take  the  cue  from  them.  .  .  . 
"  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  causes  of  our 
failure  to  make  this  journal  what  it  should  be,  we 
are  disposed  to  find  them  mostly  in  the  editor 
himself.  .  .  .  We  have  long  realized  that  we  were 
not  made  for  the  competitive,  sharp  enterprise 
of  modern  journalism.  That  turn  of  mind  which 
looks  at  the  ideal  rather  than  the  practical,  and  the 
native  indolence  of  temperament  which  sometimes 
goes  with  it,  have  made  our  movements  slow. 
Hurry  who  will,  we  rather  wait  and  take  our 
chance.  The  work  which  could  not  be  done  at 
leisure,  and  in  disregard  to  all  immediate  effect,  we 
have  been  too  apt  to  feel  was  hardly  worth  the 
doing.  To  be  the  first  in  the  field  with  an  an- 
nouncement or  a  criticism  or  an  idea  was  no  part 
of  our  ambition.  How  can  one  recognize  competi- 
tors or  enter  into  competition,  and  at  the  same 
time  keep  his  eye  upon  truth  ?     If  one  have  anything 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  211 

worth  saying,  will  it  not  be  as  good  to-morrow  as 
to-day?"  .  .  . 

All  which  needs  to  be  said  in  the  way  of  com- 
ment on  this  final  word  of  Dwight's  as  an  editor  is 
expressed  in  a  letter  to  him  from  Richard  Grant 
White,  written  on  receipt  of  the  closing  number: 
"  The  sight  of  the  last  number  of  your  Journal,  and 
the  reading  of  your  valedictory  article,  were  not 
pleasant,"  wrote  this  able  critic ;  "  and  this  was  the 
first  time  that  either  the  Journal  or  your  writing 
gave  me  any  other  feeling  than  one  of  pleasure. 
I  had  regarded  the  Journal  as  a  Boston  institution, 
one  of  the  spokes  of  the  Hub.  What  will  musical 
Boston,  what  musical  New  England,  do  without 
it?  For  surely  there  is  nothing  that  will  fill  its 
place.  I  note  with  sadness  the  intimation  that 
musical  New  England  does  not  want  its  place  filled ; 
but,  if  there  is  to  be  a  special  musical  journal  that 
is  worthy  to  be  published,  of  what  other  sort  can  it 
be  than  yours  ? 

"Your  article  is  filled  with  manly  good  sense. 
You  mourn  without  whining,  and  yet  say  severe 
things  in  a  mild  way.  The  sort  of  musical  journal 
which  you  describe  as  your  successful  rival  is  detest- 
able. A  mess  of  gossip  and  '  newsy '  paragraphs, — 
hideous  word  for  a  disgusting  thing.  But  I  came 
long  ago  to  the  conclusion  that  what  professional 
people  want  is  merely  that  you  should  serve  their 
interests.  Your  discussion  of  art,  and  your  en- 
deavor to  teach  the  public,  they  care  nothing  about. 
The  singer  wants  you  to  tell  how  she  was  applauded 


212  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

at  Boston,  so  that  she  may  have  a  larger  audience 
at  her  Providence  concert.  The  pianoforte  maker 
wants  you  to  help  him  sell  twenty  more  pianofortes 
next  year  than  he  did  this,  and  the  publisher  wants 
you  to  make  his  publications  popular.  All  natural 
enough,  and  right  enough  ;  but  they  want  you  to  do 
this  directly.  They  have  no  respect,  or  little,  for 
the  indirect  influence  which  elevates  and  diffuses 
taste.     They  are  not  willing  to  play  the  long  game. 

11 1  regret  very  much  this  close  of  your  valu- 
able editorial  labors.  You  have  done  great  work, 
and  have  that  consciousness,  to  be  sure, —  some 
comfort,  but  it  should  not  be  all.  There  is  not  a 
musician  of  respectability  in  the  country  who  is  not 
your  debtor." 

In  Harper  s  Magazine,  George  W.  Curtis  spoke 
in  the  most  appreciative  way  of  the  work  which 
Dwight  had  done  for  music,  and  said  of  his  closing 
word  in  the  last  number  of  his  paper,  "  A  more  de- 
lightful valedictory  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  in 
the  swan  song  of  any  journal."  There  will  be 
found  elsewhere  the  first  part  of  a  letter  in  which 
Dwight  asked  Curtis  to  give  an  address  before  the 
Perkins  Institution  for  the  Blind.  The  last  part  of 
it  was  an  expression  of  his  warm  appreciation  of  the 
friendly  tribute  which  Curtis  had  paid  him,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

u  George,  how  many  times  I  have  been  on  the 
point  of  writing  to  you  since  that  delightful  week 
we  spent  at  dear  old  Tweedy 's !  To  me  it  was  a 
sweet  renewal  of  good  old  days,  and  I  came  away 


YEARS    OF    TOIL    FOR    MUSIC  213 

feeling  that  it  must  have  added  some  time  to  my 
life.  Then,  too,  I  wished  to  thank  you  for  your  most 
friendly,  hearty,  and  delightful  talk  about  me  and 
my  Journal \n  the  '  Easy  Chair.'  It  was  so  like  you, 
like  the  dear  old  George.  I  tell  you,  it  made  me 
feel  well,  as  if  life  wasn't  all  a  failure.  And  now 
I  am  finding  laziness  agreeing  with  me  too,  too 
well.  You  know  I  was  always  lazy  in  the  matter  of 
correspondence.  I  let  you  write  me  so  many  nice 
long  letters  from  Europe,  and  so  seldom  answered. 
Now  I  am  indulging  in  society  much  more  than 
ever  before,  and  with  a  zest ;  and  truth  is,  society 
here  takes  the  form  of  music  to  a  great  extent  of 
late.  And  if  I  were  not  so  very,  very  old,  if  it 
were  not  my  fate  to  have  been  sent  into  the  world 
so  long  before  my  time,  I  verily  believe  I  should 
confess  myself  over  head  and  ears  in  love.  At  any 
rate,  I  love  life.  Yet  nearly  all  my  old  friends  seem 
to  be  dead  or  dying,  Robert  Apthorp  chief  of  all. 
When  I  write  you  again,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  say 
that  I  am  well  at  work  again ;  but  how  ?  on  what  ? 
Thank  God,  I  am  not  a  '  critic' ! " 


*  CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC. 

A  biography  of  John  S.  D wight,  on  a  compre- 
hensive plan,  would  be  a  history  of  music  in  Boston 
from  1840  to  1890.  His  sketch  of  the  history  of 
music,  in  the  last  volume  of  "  The  Memorial  His- 
tory of  Boston,"  simply  recited  that  with  which  he 
was  personally  familiar,  and  in  a  large  part  of  which 
he  was  in  some  way  a  participant.  He  not  only 
reported  the  musical  events  of  all  these  years,  and 
discussed  them  critically  in  the  Journal  of  Music, 
but  in  many  of  them  he  was  an  actual  participant 
in  their  inception  and  direction.  This  was  emphati- 
cally true  in  regard  to  the  Harvard  Musical  Asso- 
ciation and  its  symphony  concerts,  the  professor- 
ship of  music  in  Harvard  University,  the  giving  of 
musical  instruction  in  the  public  schools,  the  build- 
ing of  the  Boston  Music  Hall  and  the  securing  of 
its  great  organ.  These  are  only  indications  of  his 
influence, — an  influence  which  was  for  half  a  century 
potent  for  good. 

His  life  was  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
Harvard  Musical  Association  that  it  is  impossible 
to  separate  the  two.  As  has  already  been  seen,  it 
was  largely  through  his  enthusiasm  and  his  earnest 
efforts  that  this  society  was  organized.  He  was  its 
first  vice-president,  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
directors.  In  1841  he  was  chairman  of  the  nominat- 
ing committee,  and  he  proposed  that  some  one  be 
invited  each  year  to  give  an  address  on  music  before 


THE   AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  215 

the  society.  At  this  meeting  he  gave  an  address 
on  "  Music  as  a  Means  of  Culture,"  which  was  soon 
after  published  in  pamphlet  form.  In  succeeding 
years  similar  addresses  were  given  by  George  B. 
Emerson,  William  W.  Story,  and  Christopher  P. 
Cranch.  In  1842  Dwight  was  again  elected  vice- 
president,  and  he  also  held  the  office  the  two  suc- 
ceeding years.  In  1848  he  was  one  of  the  directors, 
and  chairman  of  the  committee  for  the  purchase  of 
books  for  the  library.  In  1849  ne  was  chairman 
of  the  nominating  committee,  and  was  elected  a 
director,  as  well  as  chairman  of  the  library  com- 
mittee. On  his  motion  the  time  of  holding  the 
annual  meeting  was  changed  from  Commencement 
Week  to  the  month  of  January;  and  the  place  was 
changed  to  Boston,  in  order  that  the  society  might 
be  more  nearly  in  touch  with  the  musical  life  of  the 
members. 

Dwight  was  active  in  providing  an  attractive 
musical  programme  for  the  meetings  of  the  associa- 
tion, the  first  effort  in  this  direction  being  made  in 
1 84 1.  There  soon  after  followed  a  number  of 
Chamber  Concerts  in  Cambridge,  given  under  the 
auspices  of  the  association.  From  1844  to  1850 
three  series  of  such  concerts  were  held  in  Boston, 
the  first  two  at  Chickering's  warerooms,  and  the 
last  in  Cochituate  Hall  These  were  then  quite 
a  novelty,  proved  attractive,  and  were  widely  imi- 
tated. 

The  coming  of  Jenny  Lind  to  this  country  in 
1850  made  it  apparent  to  the  lovers  of   music  in 


216  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Boston  that  a  large  music  hall  was  greatly  needed 
in  the  city.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Harvard 
Musical  Association,  held  in  Boston,  Jan.  31,  185 1, 
this  need  was  considered;  and  a  committee,  of  which 
Dwight  was  a  member,  was  appointed  to  make  in- 
quiries and  report.  In  November,  1852,  the  great 
Music  Hall  was  opened  with  a  grand  musical  fes- 
tival. Eleven  years  later,  in  November,  1863,  the 
great  organ  provided  for  this  hall  was  dedicated. 
In  the  Journal  of  Music  both  these  events  were  fol- 
lowed step  by  step,  and  with  great  enthusiasm.  Its 
pages  contain  a  complete  record  of  their  inception 
and  consummation.  For  their  time  they  were 
events  of  much  importance  to  the  musical  growth 
of  Boston,  though  both  of  them  have  quite  lost 
their  significance  in  the  changed  conditions  of  more 
recent  years. 

In  1853  Dwight  was  again  elected  vice-president 
of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association.  From  1855  on 
to  1873  he  was  continuously  elected  to  fill  this  posi- 
tion. Almost  as  continuously  he  was  at  the  head 
of  the  library  committee.  He  took  much  interest 
in  the  effort  to  build  up  a  musical  library  which 
should  contain  the  works  of  all  the  great  masters  of 
music,  as  well  as  such  works  of  history,  criticism, 
etc.,  as  would  make  a  helpful  reference  library  for 
those  interested  in  the  thorough  study  of  music. 
He  was  hindered  for  many  years  by  lack  of  money, 
by  want  of  a  proper  place  for  such  a  library,  and  by 
the  absence  of  interest  on  the  part  of  most  others. 
For  a  time  the  library  was  given  an  alcove  in  the 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  217 

Boston  Athenaeum.  In  1867  the  association  se- 
cured a  room  for  the  library ;  and  from  that  time 
on  it  grew  steadily,  increasing  in  value  with  each 
year.  The  interest  which  Dwight  took  in  the  asso- 
ciation during  all  these  years  was  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  the  library ;  but  it  included  every  phase  of 
the  work  of  the  society,  and  all  which  concerned 
the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of  music.  He  was 
active  in  providing  for  the  meetings  held  in  Cam- 
bridge during  Commencement  Week,  in  making  sure 
that  the  annual  meeting  in  January,  now  held  in 
Boston,  should  be  attractive,  that  the  dinner  should 
be  excellent  and  the  speaking  of  the  best,  and  that 
the  society  should  draw  into  its  membership  all  the 
college  graduates  in  Boston  who  were  lovers  of 
music,  and  especially  those  of  Harvard. 

In  1865  Dwight  brought  before  the  association 
the  question  of  doing  something  for  orchestral 
music  in  Boston.  It  was  proposed  to  form  a  Phil- 
harmonic Society  among  the  members,  for  the  prac- 
tice of  such  music.  It  was  decided  to  hold  four 
orchestral  concerts,  and  the  committee  in  charge 
had  Dwight  for  its  chairman.  Now,  for  the  first 
time,  Dwight  was  able  to  carry  out  his  own  ideas  as 
to  what  should  be  done  for  the  education  of  musical 
taste.  It  was  not  the  aim  to  make  money,  the 
receipts  being  faithfully  devoted  to  the  improvement 
of  the  concerts.  A  fit  audience  was  guaranteed  by 
subscriptions  secured  before  the  concerts  began; 
and  only  the  best  works  of  the  great  masters  —  those 
of  an  established  reputation  —  were  to  be  presented. 


218  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

The  first  of  these  concerts  was  given  the  last 
week  in  December,  1865,  and  for  the  first  time 
realized  the  wish  Dwight  had  expressed  in  the  Dial, 
that  there  might  be  given  in  Boston  a  series  of  pop- 
ular concerts  of  a  high  artistic  order.  Six  con- 
certs were  given  in  all,  and  with  eminent  success. 
The  next  season  the  number  was  extended  to 
eight ;  and  they  went  on  steadily  for  seven  or 
eight  years,  increasing  in  popularity  and  success. 
Then  came  a  change.  The  fund  already  accumu- 
lated became  necessary  to  meet  expenses,  and  the 
concerts  were  finally  abandoned  in  1882.  This 
was  due  to  the  popularity  of  the  Theodore  Thomas 
concerts,  the  Symphony  Concerts  sustained  by 
Mr.  H.  L.  Higginson,  and  to  the  rapid  growth  of 
musical  interest  in  many  other  directions.  The 
association  accomplished  the  object  with  which  it 
set  out.  It  had  thoroughly  trained  the  Boston 
public  to  know  good  music,  and  to  demand  that 
which  was  better  than  it  could  itself  produce  with 
its  limited  resources.  It  is  to  be  said,  however,  that 
the  "  Symphony  Concerts  "  of  the  Harvard  Musical 
Association  form  a  most  important  phase  of  the 
growth  of  musical  culture  in  Boston.  They  pre- 
pared the  way  for  much  which  has  followed,  and  for 
the  first  time  almost  gave  complete  expression  in 
Boston  to  the  musical  genius  of  our  century.  They 
were  largely  the  outcome  of  Dwight's  taste  in 
music,  and  they  developed  his  conceptions  of  music 
as  a  means  of  true  culture  for  the  people.  So  long 
as  these  concerts  continued,  he  was  the  chairman  of 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  219 

the  concert  committee,  the  programmes  were  largely 
prepared  by  him,  and  he  had  charge  of  the  details 
of  the  management  of  the  concerts.  Whatever 
success  they  achieved  and  whatever  influence  they 
exerted  for  musical  culture  was  primarily  due  to 
him.  He  had  the  valuable  help  throughout,  how- 
ever, of  such  men  as  B.  J.  Lang,  Otto  Dresel,  John 
C.  D.  Parker,  and  others  of  like  ability. 

In  1869  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  secured 
rooms  at  1 2  Pemberton  Square  for  its  meetings,  for 
the  better  using  of  its  library,  and  for  social  gather- 
ings of  its  members.  In  1873  Dwight  was  elected 
president  of  the  association, —  a  position  which  he 
continued  to  hold  until  his  death.  On  June  15  of 
that  year  he  took  up  his  residence  at  the  rooms 
of  the  association,  and  henceforth  he  acted  as  its 
librarian.  From  this  time  until  his  death  he  was 
most  intimately  associated  with  everything  con- 
nected with  this  society,  and  he  gave  to  it  much  of 
his  attention  and  interest.  It  was  his  wife  and  child, 
claiming  the  warmest  affections  of  his  heart.  In 
1886  the  association  moved  to  11  Park  Square,  and 
in  1892  to  1  West  Cedar  Street. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  to  what  extent  the 
Harvard  Musical  Association  was  directly  instru- 
mental in'bringing  about  the  chief  object  of  its  exist- 
ence,—  the  introduction  of  music  to  a  recognized 
place  in  the  curriculum  of  Harvard  University.  It 
certainly  never  wholly  lost  sight  of  this  object ;  and 
it  was  urged  from  time  to  time  with  such  skill  as  the 
association  could  command,  and  through  such  means 


220  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

as  seemed  most  likely  to  lead  to  success.  In  time 
what  Dwight  and  the  association  desired  was 
brought  to  pass,  partly  through  constant  agitation 
of  the  subject  and  partly  through  criticism  of  the 
music  which  was  presented  at  the  university.  For 
a  number  of  years  Levi  P.  Homer  was  employed  by 
the  university  as  instructor  in  music  and  organist 
at  Appleton  Chapel.  On  his  death,  Mr.  John  K. 
Paine  was  called  to  this  position,  in  1862.  In  1873 
he  was  made  an  "  adjunct "  professor  of  music  ;  and 
in  1876  he  was  made  full  professor,  this  being  the 
first  instance  in  an  American  university  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  professorship  of  music.  These 
steps  forward  were  carefully  discussed  in  the  Jour- 
nal of  Music,  which  did  not  hesitate  to  point  out 
what  was  needed  to  put  music  on  a  true  footing  as 
an  academic  discipline  and  as  a  means  of  higher 
culture.  In  the  "  Memorial  History  of  Boston," 
Dwight  wrote  with  great  satisfaction  of  this  triumph 
of  musical  culture  in  this  country,  and  of  the  noble 
results  which  have  been  secured  through  the  means 
of  Professor  Paine's  labors  at  Harvard.  This  was 
in  a  large  measure  a  consummation  of  what  he  had 
urged  as  the  true  purpose  in  organizing  the  Har- 
vard Musical  Association,  in  his  preliminary  report 
of  1837. 

Dwight  was  not  less  interested  in  the  progress  of 
music  in  the  public  schools;  and  this  was  a  topic 
frequently  discussed  in  the  Journal  of  Music. 
He  had  no  official  position  which  enabled  him  to 
aid  in  this  important  movement ;    but  by  means  of 


THE   AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  221 

addresses  and  lectures,  and  through  his  editorial 
influence,  he  was  able  to  do  much  to  promote  the 
interests  of  this  form  of  musical  instruction.  All 
which  could  be  done  by  enthusiastic  approval  of 
the  efforts  of  others,  Dwight  did  for  this  cause. 

For  many  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  the  Perkins 
Institution  for  the  Blind  in  South  Boston.  He 
devoted  much  time  to  promoting  its  interests,  used 
his  influence  for  bringing  to  it  the  help  of  others, 
gave  much  attention  to  the  musical  instruction, 
aided  in  making  the  programmes  of  its  commence- 
ment exercises,  at  which  he  sometimes  presided, 
and  on  several  occasions  wrote  its  annual  reports. 
His  interest  in  this  institution  may  be  seen  in  a 
letter  which  he  wrote  to  George  William  Curtis,  in 
March,  1882,  inviting  him  to  give  an  address  before 
it,  which  was  duly  delivered. 

"My  dear  George, —  With  this  I  send  you  formal 
invitation,  on  the  part  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, for  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  foundation,  by  Dr.  Howe,  of  the  Institution 
for  the  Blind.  The  day  appointed  is  Tuesday, 
June  13;  the  place,  Tremont  Temple.  The  whole 
blind  school  will  be  present  and  the  exercises  will 
consist  of  music  by  the  pupils  (which,  I  assure  you, 
will  be  excellent),  specimens  of  the  way  they  read 
from  raised  print,  brief  exhibitions  of  the  various 
classes,  some  of  their  original  compositions,  decla- 
mations, etc.,  a  contributed  poem  or  two,  short 
address  by  Governor  Long  and  perhaps  other  New 


222  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

England  Governors,  etc.  But,  chief  of  all,  we  wish 
to  have  an  address, —  not  long,  say  half  an  hour, — 
partly  historical;  and  we  all  (committee,  director, 
teachers,  pupils)  have  set  our  hearts  upon  having 
you  perform  that  service.  It  would  delight  us  all; 
and  I  know  that  you  would  find  the  occasion,  the 
very  sight  of  those  sightless  children  made  so 
happy,  most  inspiring,  Director  Anagnos  (admi- 
rable continuer  of  the  good  Doctor's  work)  has 
doubtless  sent  you  the  last  annual  '  Report,'  con- 
taining his  most  interesting  history  of  all  the  efforts 
made,  in  Europe  and  this  country,  for  the  education 
of  the  blind.  With  that  for  a  guide  you  will  easily 
make  yourself  au  niveau  of  the  theme  historically. 
A  more  responsive  audience  than  the  blind  them- 
selves cannot  be  found.  Dear  George,  do  think 
seriously  of  it,  and  tell  me  you  will  come.  Your 
own  wishes  in  respect  to  the  arrangements  and  con- 
ditions shall  in  all  respects  be  consulted.  But 
come,  if  you  wish  to  have  a  good  time,  a  memorable 
time,  and  make  a  good  time  for  us." 

Of  his  connection  with  the  institution  the  super- 
intendent, Mr.  Michael  Anagnos,  said :  — 

"  Mr.  Dwight  took  a  most  profound  interest  in  the 
institution  and  its  ministry  to  the  needs  of  the 
blind.  For  eighteen  years  he  served  as  a  trustee, 
with  rare  assiduity  and  devotion.  It  was  chiefly 
due  to  his  influence  that  very  little  so-called  popu- 
lar music  was  used  in  the  school,  and  that  the  time 
was  mostly  given  to  the  classics  from  Bach  to  the 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  223 

masters  of  the  present  day.  He  not  only  urged 
this  policy  upon  our  teachers  with  persuasive  ear- 
nestness, but  devoted  his  time  and  talent  to  the 
translation  and  compilation  of  books  in  raised  char- 
acters for  the  purpose." 

Another  way  in  which  Dwight  served  the  inter- 
ests of  music  in  Boston  was  by  the  earnest  and 
enthusiastic  welcome  which  he  always  gave  to 
musicians,  especially  to  young  men  of  talent  and 
genius.  He  saw  their  merits,  he  praised  their 
work,  and  he  urged  their  claims  upon  the  public. 
It  is  sometimes  hinted,  in  conversation,  that  he  did 
not  welcome  such  men  if  they  were  favorable  to  the 
newer  schools,  and  if  they  did  not  follow  the 
methods  which  he  most  admired.  No  one  will  find 
anything  of  this  in  the  Journal  of  Music,  not  even 
the  faintest  hint  of  it.  When  such  men  as  John 
C.  D.  Parker,  John  K.  Paine,  Benjamin  J.  Lang, 
George  W.  Chadwick,  Arthur  Foote,  and  William 
F.  Apthorp  came  forward,  the  Journal  of  Music 
gave  them  unstinted  welcome,  cordial,  unpreju- 
diced, and  enthusiastic.  In  that  paper,  for  the 
years  1861  and  1862,  will  be  found  as  appreciative 
notices  of  the  organ-playing  of  John  K.  Paine,  and 
of  his  appointment  to  the  position  of  instructor  of 
music  at  Harvard,  as  any  young  man,  at  the  open- 
ing of  his  career,  could  desire.  When  Mr.  Paine 
was  made  a  professor  of  music  in  that  university, 
when  his  important  musical  compositions  were  pub- 
lished, and  when  his  works  were  given  fit  interpre- 
tation in   Cambridge  and  elsewhere,  these   events 


224  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

were  welcomed  by  D wight  as  true  indications  of 
the  development  of  music  in  this  country.  In  one 
of  the  last  numbers  of  his  paper  he  spoke  of  the 
presentation  of  the  GEdipus  Tyrannus  of  Sophocles 
at  Harvard,  with  Professor  Paine's  music,  as  "  the 
most  complete  and  thoroughly  artistic  presentation 
of  a  work  of  pure  high  art  that  this  part  of  the 
world  has  ever  yet  achieved  out  of  its  own  re- 
sources." And  he  also  spoke  of  "  the  beautiful, 
strong,  fitting,  manly  music  composed  by  Professor 
Paine."  Had  not  the  Journal  come  to  its  end  so 
soon  after  this  event,  there  is  no  doubt  this  music 
would  have  received  fit  interpretation  at  his  hands. 
One  more  illustration  of  Dwight's  treatment  of 
young  men  may  be  seen  in  the  case  of  Mr.  George 
W.  Chadwick.  His  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  was  pre- 
sented in  Boston  in  December,  1879.  Dwight 
gave  his  opinion  of  it  in  these  words :  "  Mr.  Chad- 
wick's  overture  more  than  justified  the  interest  with 
which  it  was  anticipated.  It  is  a  fresh,  genial, 
thoroughly  well-wrought,  consistent,  charming  work. 
As  in  most  overtures  with  titles,  and  no  opera  to 
follow,  it  may  be  hard  to  trace  the  story  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle  through  it.  .  .  .  But  all  this  is  of  slight  ac- 
count compared  with  the  musical  themes  and  prog- 
ress and  symmetrical  unfolding  of  the  work.  The 
slow  introduction  impressed  us  as  the  finest  part. 
It  opens  rich  and  broad ;  and,  when  the  horns  come 
in,  it  is  positively  stirring.  The  two  principal  themes, 
worked  up  singly  and  together  throughout  the  long 
Allegro,  are  happily  chosen  and  effective.     The  in- 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  225 

strumentation  is  rich  and  varied,  full  of  pleasing 
contrasts,  never  glaring,  but  all  artistically  blended. 
Indeed,  the  young  man  seems  entirely  at  home  in 
the  orchestra."  This  is  certainly  a  most  friendly 
and  appreciative  approval  of  the  first  work  of  a 
young  man,  and  it  does  not  justify  the  tradition  that 
Dvvight  opposed  Mr.  Chadwick  because  of  his  Wag- 
nerian and  new-style  tendencies.  Most  of  the  tra- 
ditions in  regard  to  Dwight's  attitude  towards  other 
musicians  and  composers,  whom  he  is  said  to  have 
opposed,  probably  have  as  little  foundation  in  fact. 
Not  less  sympathetic  was  Dwight's  welcome  to 
musicians  from  other  countries  who  came  to  reside 
in  Boston.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Racke- 
mann,  Fries,  Kreissman,  Zerrahn,  Jaell,  Eichberg, 
Henschel,  Perabo,  Listemann ;  and  there  were 
many  others.  These  were  welcomed,  good  words 
said  for  them  in  the  Journal  of  Music^  and  their 
way  made  easy,  so  far  as  a  kindly  interpretation  and 
an  understanding  approval  of  their  work  could  do 
so.  Especially  was  Dwight's  attitude  towards  Otto 
Dresel,  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Germans  to  settle 
in  Boston,  that  of  sincerest  and  most  appreciative 
friendliness.  In  Dresel  he  found  a  man  after  his 
own  heart,  an  intimate  friend,  one  whose  musical 
convictions  and  appreciations  were  of  close  kin  to 
his  own,  and  a  true  intellectual  comrade.  Otto 
Dresel  came  to  Boston  in  1852,  was  a  cultivated 
and  highly  trained  musician,  a  man  of  a  most  sensi- 
tive and  refined  nature ;  and  there  naturally  sprang 
up  between  the  two  men  an    intimate   friendship. 


226  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

After  his  death,  Dwight  said  of  him :  "  With  an  un- 
qualified conviction  we  are  bound  to  say  he  was  the 
best  accompanist  we  ever  heard, —  the  most  refined, 
poetic,  sympathetic, —  the  most  loyal  to  the  com- 
poser, subordinating  and  forgetting  his  own  person- 
ality entirely,  the  most  sure  to  catch  and  express 
the  spirit  of  the  music,  the  most  helpful  to  the 
singer.  .  .  .  When  all  was  right,  and  when  he  felt  at 
home,  then  his  playing  was  in  the  best  sense  admi- 
rable, inimitable,  so  exquisitely  delicate,  so  full  of 
fire  and  strength  and  a  poetic  unction,  so  crisp  in 
its  long-sustained  staccato,  so  song-like  in  its  beau- 
tiful legato,  and  went  so  directly  to  the  heart  and 
soul,  that  one  wondered  that  he  ever  could  be 
eclipsed  by  even  the  world-wide  celebrities  among 
pianists."  Again :  "  Perhaps  no  artist  ever  had 
in  greater  purity  and  strength,  ever  obeyed  more 
uncompromisingly,  more  humbly,  more  unselfishly, 
what  may  be  called  the  artistic  conscience,  than 
Otto  Dresel.  It  reigned  in  him  unconsciously  by 
the  whole  bent  and  force  and  habit  of  his  nature. 
His  intensity  in  his  devotion  to  a  high  ideal,  in 
his  work  and  study  and  performance,  in  his  unfold- 
ing of  the  truth  of  art  to  others,  was  phenomenal." 
Enough  has  perhaps  been  already  said  in  regard 
to  Dwight's  attitude  towards  the  music  of  Wagner 
and  others  of  his  school.  His  opposition  was  not 
always  clearly  understood,  and  he  was  sometimes 
misjudged.  On  one  occasion  he  expressed  himself 
strongly  on  the  subject  in  a  conversation  which 
caused   Mr.  Georg  Henschel  to  write  him  a  letter 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  227 

of  frank  criticism  in  regard  to  his  reported  asser- 
tions. In  reply,  Dwight  explained  his  own  position, 
and  showed  that  he  did  not  wish  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  the  music  of  Wagner  being  heard  in  Boston. 

"  Your  informant,"  he  wrote,  "  must  have  wholly 
misunderstood  my  half  playful  and  (I  admit)  quite 
extravagant  remark.  I  had  not  and  could  not 
have  the  slightest  wish  to  prevent  your  making  a 
memorial  concert  of  Wagner  music,  and  I  should 
be  the  last  man  in  the  world  to  vote  for  any  prohibi- 
tory committee  or  board  of  censorship.  You  have 
a  right  to  make  your  own  programme  according  to 
your  own  feeling  of  the  occasion,  and  I  admired  the 
earnestness  and  energy  with  which  you  set  about  it. 
What  I  said  (either  to  or  in  the  hearing  of  Mr. 
Dannreuther)  had  no  reference  to  this  concert  or 
this  orchestra,  but  was  in  continuance  of  some  con- 
versation which  began  before  Mr.  D.  joined  us,  in 
which  I  expressed  the  depressing  influence  which  so 
much  of  the  more  ambitious  modern  music  had 
upon  my  mind, —  so  many  big  words  which,  by  their 
enormous  orchestration,  crowded  harmonies,  sheer 
intensity  of  sound,  and  restless,  swarming  motion 
without  progress,  seem  to  seek  to  carry  the  listeners 
by  storm,  by  a  roaring  whirlwind  of  sound,  instead 
of  going  to  the  heart  by  the  simpler  and  divine  way 
of  *  the  still,  small  voice.'  And  then  it  occurred  to 
me  that  it  might  even  justify  a  high  court, —  a 
world's  court  of  censorship, —  composed  of  the  great- 
est musicians,  to  pass  upon  such  works  before  they 
should  come  out,  thus  clearing  the  musical  atmos- 


228  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

phere  of  many  heavy  clouds  and  of  much  murky 
musical  malaria.  It  was  a  sudden  freak  of  thought, 
and  of  course  an  utterly  impracticable  extravaganza. 
But,  when  I  meet  a  '  red-hot '  Wagnerite,  I  am  some- 
times tempted  in  a  humorous  way  to  say  the  worst 
I  can  upon  the  other  side;  and  I  fear  it  is  some- 
times, as  in  this  case,  taken  seriously." 

A  curious  episode  in  his  connection  with  "the 
Music  of  the  Future"  was  that  in  1880  he  was 
appealed  to  in  behalf  of  Wagner,  who  had  a  project 
of  coming  to  this  country  to  take  charge  of  the 
presentation  of  his  music-dramas.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year  he  received  a  letter  from  Dresden, 
written  by  Mr.  N.  S.  Jenkins,  who  said:  "Some 
time  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  my  friend,  Mr. 
Richard  Wagner,  of  which  I  beg  to  enclose  you  a 
translation.  Upon  passing  through  Italy  some 
weeks  ago,  I  stayed  in  Naples  (where  Mr.  Wagner 
is  now  residing),  and  talked  over  with  him  the  sub- 
ject upon  which  he  had  written  me.  I  found  that 
he  was  sincerely  desirous  that  his  friends  in  America 
should  be  made  acquainted  with  his  feelings  regard- 
ing a  possible  emigration  to  America,  and  prom- 
ised, so  soon  as  I  had  returned  from  a  journey  to 
the  East,  to  communicate  with  you.  As  I  am  not 
specially  interested  in  music,  and  am  also  by  rea- 
son of  a  long  residence  abroad  incapacitated  from 
giving  an  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  Mr.  Wagner's 
letter,  I  felt  that  I  could  only  advise  my  friend  to 
consult  the  first  musical  authority  in  America,  and 
therefore  take  the  first  opportunity  of  sending  you 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  229 

the  enclosed  translated  copy.  May  I  beg  you  to 
kindly  send  a  reply  to  Mr.  Wagner,  Villa  Augri, 
Naples.  Mr.  Wagner  is  not  averse  to  having  this 
subject  discussed  among  his  friends,  but  he  does 
not  wish  it  to  become  matter  for  newspaper  com- 
ment." 

"  Your  letter  of  June  1 1  was  duly  received," 
Dwight  wrote  in  reply,  "and  should  have  been 
acknowledged  before  this.  But,  being  puzzled 
what  to  say,  I  have  waited  to  consult  various  musi- 
cal people  on  the  subject  of  Herr  Wagner's  letter, 
feeling  that  I  had  received  it  in  confidence  and 
could  not  publish  it. 

"  I  find  that  it  affects  almost  every  one  who  has 
read  it,  even  those  most  inclined  to  Wagnerism,  as 
an  extraordinary  and  almost  insane  proposal.  You 
do  me  too  much  honor  in  alluding  to  me  as  '  the 
first  musical  authority  in  America ' ;  and  you  will 
smile,  no  doubt,  to  hear  that  I  by  no  means  am 
counted  here  among  the  enthusiasts  for  Wagner's 
music,  but  have  been  more  identified  with  the 
opinions  of  such  dissenters  as  Dr.  Hanslick,  Ferdi- 
nand Hiller,  Ambros,  etc.  I  cannot,  therefore,  very 
well  write  (as  you  request)  to  Wagner  himself. 

"  The  most  practical  thought  that  occurs  to  me  is 
this :  Mr.  Theodore  Thomas,  the  famous  orchestra 
conductor,  and  thus  far  the  most  active  representa- 
tive of  the  Wagner  movement  in  this  country,  is 
just  now  in  Europe ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  went  there 
with  the  express  purpose  of  visiting  Herr  Wagner. 
Probably  by  this  time    they  have  met  and   talked 


230  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

over  the  whole  matter  together.  Mr.  Thomas  can 
speak  from  a  much  wider  observation  of  musical 
matters  in  all  the  States  than  has  been  possible  to 
me,  who  hardly  ever  go  away  from  Boston ;  and  he 
can  better  judge  how  far  the  soil  is  ready  for  such  a 
planting. 

"Your  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Twining,  has  written 
me  a  very  courteous  letter,  saying  all  manner  of 
good  things  about  yourself ;  but  of  this  assurance  I 
had  no  need,  since  several  of  my  friends  here,  who 
have  resided  in  Dresden,  knew  you  well.  Among 
these  are  Mr.  Otto  Dresel  (now  on  his  way  back  to 
Europe)  and  the  family  of  Mrs.  John  A.  Andrew. 

u  Naturally,  Herr  Wagner's  letter,  which  I  have 
shown  to  a  few,  has  got  pretty  widely  talked  about ; 
and  already  the  '  irrepressible  reporters  '  have  begun 
to  put  paragraphs  about  it  in  the  newspapers.  This 
may  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  print  the  exact 
thing.  Mr.  Twining  in  his  letter  to  me  speaks  of 
your  having  sent  me  for  publication  in  my  Journal 
of  Music  some  statements  with  regard  to  Herr 
Wagner's  feeling  and  purposes  as  to  coming  to 
this  country." 

Nothing  came  of  this  project,  of  course ;  but  it  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that,  in  the  midst  of  his  success  at 
Bayreuth,  when  his  fame  was  established,  Wagner 
had  a  desire  to  come  to  America.  It  is  quite  cer- 
tain, however,  that  he  would  have  received  a  greater 
recognition  here  than  any  he  met  with  in  Europe, 
had  he  carried  out  his  project. 

For  many  years  John  S.  Dwight  was  the  musical 


THE   AUTOCRAT   OF   MUSIC  231 

dictator  of  Boston,  and  what  he  approved  was  ac- 
cepted as  right  and  good.  He  was,  in  a  true  sense  the 
autocrat  of  musical  taste  ;  and  no  one  questioned  his 
opinion,  at  least  with  any  probability  of  getting 
his  heresy  accepted.  He  had  a  remarkable  gift  for 
interpreting  a  musical  composition,  bringing  out 
its  salient  points  as  a  work  of  art,  and  putting  its 
leading  motives  into  literary  form.  His  aesthetic 
perceptions  were  keen,  his  artistic  judgment  sound, 
and  his  poetic  appreciation  of  a  high  order.  These 
qualities,  along  with  a  vivid  imagination,  and  a 
charming  gift  for  literary  expression,  made  him  an 
able  critic,  and  one  capable  of  impressing  cultivated 
persons  with  the  value  and  correctness  of  his 
opinions.  Those  who  knew  him  most  intimately 
felt  that  he  had  a  wonderful  power  of  expression  as 
a  literary  interpreter  of  music,  and  that  his  aesthetic 
sense  of  what  was  best  in  music  was  very  great. 
To  them  he  always  stood  for  the  highest  things  in 
music.  He  held  before  them  a  high  but  sound 
musical  ideal,  and  they  felt  that  his  judgment  was 
not  to  be  questioned. 

At  the  time  when  he  began  to  write,  Dwight's 
word  was  of  much  value  in  making  cultured  people 
acquainted  with  the  best  musical  traditions,  in 
pointing  out  to  them  clearly  what  music  might 
become  as  a  means  of  culture,  and  in  showing  them 
how  to  translate  music  into  its  corresponding  poetic 
meanings.  Especially  for  amateurs,  those  who  re- 
garded music  simply  as  a  means  of  culture,  was  this 
task  of  real  service ;  and    the    effect   he    produced 


232  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

everywhere  upon  amateurs  was  great.  He  showed 
them  what  to  expect  in  classic  music,  how  to  find 
it,  and  how  to  bring  it  to  bear  upon  the  higher 
issues  of  daily  living.  He  preached  the  gospel  of 
beauty  in  a  way  to  make  it  bear  fruit  of  a  truly 
aesthetic  kind.  But  his  influence  upon  musicians 
of  the  professional  type  was  also  great,  in  part 
because  he  was  a  most  appreciative  and  sympa- 
thetic listener,  and  in  part  because  he  criticised 
without  harshness  or  ill-will.  His  presence  at  any 
kind  of  musical  programme  was  stimulating  to  the 
musicians ;  for  they  knew  he  came  not  to  condemn, 
but  to  admire  and  approve.  He  was  a  personal 
friend  to  every  musician  of  any  ability  in  Boston; 
and  he  was  ready  to  commend  true  work  of  what- 
ever kind,  and  to  see  merit  or  genius  wherever  any 
were  to  be  found.  The  musical  people  knew  he 
would  treat  them  well,  that  he  was  never  unkind 
or  unjust,  and  he  always  spoke  sincerely  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  truth. 

For  a  period  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  the 
general  public  looked  to  Dwight  to  help  them  form 
their  musical  opinions.  What  he  approved  was  in 
large  degree  accepted  as  right.  This  leadership  he 
acquired  because  he  earned  it  and  was  worthy  of  it, 
because  he  did  not  abuse  it  and  rarely  offended  it, 
because  he  knew  what  he  wanted  and  what  he 
believed  in,  and  because  he  had  the  gift  of  convinc- 
ing other  people  of  the  importance  and  rightness  of 
his  point  of  view.  He  brought  other  people  to  his 
way  of  thinking,  in  a  quiet  and   convincing  way, 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  233 

without  dogmatism,  and  with  the  conviction  that  all 
had  been  cleared  up  and  made  luminous  by  his  in- 
terpretation. In  this  he  was  a  master  of  the  art  of 
persuasion,  because  he  knew  his  own  opinions  and 
because  he  respected  the  opinions  of  others. 

The  younger  men  were  not  always  satisfied  with 
the  criticisms  which  Dwight  put  forth ;  and  their 
objections  may  rightly  find  utterance  here,  not  be- 
cause they  are  wholly  accepted,  but  because  they 
are  necessary  to  a  faithful  estimate  of  the  man 
whose  labors  are  under  discussion.  In  the  grow- 
ing period  when  Dwight  was  most  influential, 
one  of  these  men  has  said,  it  needed  a  man  of 
literary  attainments,  of  good  social  standing,  re- 
spected by  every  one,  to  supply  a  pointer,  to  direct 
the  way  to  what  was  best.  Dwight  filled  this  place 
admirably,  and  influenced  the  public  to  see  the 
value  of  music  as  a  means  of  culture.  Without  him 
Boston  would  not  to-day  have  reached  its  high 
stage  of  development  in  music.  He  had  an  enor- 
mous influence  for  good,  did  the  real  thing  for  the 
advancement  of  music  in  his  day,  was  strong  in  that 
he  never  stultified  himself,  always  was  on  the  side 
of  what  was  best  and  noblest,  morning  and  night 
was  faithful  to  his  own  convictions,  and  finally  made 
the  public  see  with  him  what  was  good  by  his  sheer 
love  of  it,  his  true  appreciation  of  its  merits,  and 
his  immense  persistence  in  presenting  what  was 
genuinely  true.  He  never  cared  for  what  was  poor 
or  in  any  way  false,  but  he  had  an  indomitable 
loyalty  to  what  is  genuine  and  right. 

Dwight's  influence  was  very  important  in  rousing 


234  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

the  musical  tastes  of  young  people.  They  read  his 
paper  with  enthusiasm,  and  a  goodly  number  of 
them  were  guided  to  a  musical  career  by  the  stim- 
ulus of  his  writings  and  personal  influence.  His 
pure  and  lofty  ideals  of  music  quickened  their 
aesthetic  appreciations  and  stimulated  their  imagi- 
nations. Yet  the  time  came  when  he  ceased  to  be 
a  leader  to  the  young,  when  the  age  left  him  be- 
hind. His  work  would  be  of  little  value  to-day, 
because  his  methods  and  his  ideals  are  outgrown. 
He  had  an  excessive  loyalty  to  those  he  learned 
early  in  life  to  appreciate,  but  he  was  not  able  to 
take  up  the  newer  and  abler  men.  He  enjoyed 
music  because  it  was  produced  by  the  men  he  loved, 
and  anything  from  them  he  approved ;  but,  if  the 
name  of  Wagner,  Brahms,  or  Chadwick,  were  given 
to  the  same  composition,  he  would  not  accept  it. 
He  was  not  able  to  make  true  comparisons  in 
music,  his  technical  knowledge  was  very  limited, 
and  his  musical  judgment  was  not  trained  and  skil- 
ful. He  was  stubbornly  set  in  his  own  way,  his 
mind  was  fixed,  and  he  would  not  move  out  of  the 
way  in  which  he  had  begun  to  travel.  He  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  such  men  as  Bach  and  Otto 
Dresel  were  right ;  and  he  had  no  patience  with  the 
newer  men,  was  not  ready  to  give  them  a  fair  and 
honest  hearing.  Not  only  did  he  think  the  music 
of  Wagner  ugly,  but  he  had  little  faith  in  American 
composers.  Twenty  years  before  he  died,  Dwight 
had  come  to  the  end  of  his  usefulness,  and  the  age 
had  left  him  behind.  He  was  not  in  touch  with 
the  newer  time,  would  not  move  forward  with  the 


THE    AUTOCRAT    OF    MUSIC  235 

development  of  musical  taste,  and  could  not  under- 
stand the  rapid  growth  of  music  as  an  art. 

These  are  the  judgments  of  approval  and  dissent 
one  may  hear  about  Dwight  and  his  work.  In  part 
they  are  sound,  and  in  part  they  are  the  result  of 
pique  and  jealousy.  Without  doubt  Dwight  held 
his  opinions  very  firmly  and  with  earnest  convic- 
tion. By  temperament  he  was  not  a  Wagnerite, 
and  would  not  have  been  so,  had  he  grown  up  in  a 
Wagner  atmosphere.  He  was  by  nature  an  idealist, 
and  belonged  to  the  age  when  music  was  the  voice 
of  the  interior  life.  The  quiet,  mystical,  introspec- 
tive mood  was  his ;  and  he  preferred  the  music 
which  grew  out  of  the  same  spirit.  The  more 
realistic  music  of  the  later  time  he  did  not  care 
for,  because  it  did  not  appeal  to  him,  because  it  was 
objective  and  spectacular,  because  it  grew  out  of 
another  mood  than  that  in  which  he  lived  and  had 
his  being.  This  fact  must  exonerate  him  from  the 
charge  of  a  stubborn  unwillingness  to  give  heed  to 
the  newer  music ;  for,  having  given  honest  attention 
to  it,  he  deliberately  rejected  it.  Here  was  Dwight's 
limitation  as  a  critic, —  that  he  could  not  rise  above 
personal  preference,  and  judge  a  work  of  art  by  the 
standard  of  universal  canons.  Yet  it  was  because 
of  this  very  limitation,  this  intense  personal  interest 
and  enthusiastic  love,  that  his  musical  criticisms 
carried  conviction  to  others.  Dwight's  power  as  a 
critic  lay  in  what  he  approved,  not  in  what  he 
antagonized.  He  was  able  to  convince  others 
through  his  love  and  enthusiasm;  and,  where  he 
could  not  admire,  he  was  powerless. 


236  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Could  Dwight  have  received  a  thorough  musical 
training,  could  he  have  had  the  wealth  which  would 
have  enabled  him  to  visit  the  music  centres  of 
Europe  freely,  and  to  devote  himself  without  a  ques- 
tion of  income  to  writing  what  he  felt  and  believed 
about  music,  he  would  have  given  us  as  impor- 
tant and  permanent  work  as  any  that  has  ever 
appeared  in  the  way  of  musical  interpretation.  He 
would  have  become  the  great  interpreter  of  music 
to  the  English-speaking  world.  The  work  he  did 
for  a  few  years  in  Boston,  however,  is  needed  for 
America  to-day,  and  always  will  be  needed.  Such 
men  as  Apthorp  and  Krehbiel,  with  a  technical 
knowledge  and  training  which  Dwight  did  not 
possess,  because  of  the  very  fact  that  they  write  for 
trained  musicians,  and  use  the  technical  vocabulary 
of  the  musician,  do  not  reach  the  general  public. 
Dwight  translated  music  into  literary  form,  showed 
the  public  what  to  find  in  it,  and  how  to  discover 
its  profound  spiritual  charm  and  power.  This  is 
what  no  one  else  has  done  with  anything  like  such 
beauty  of  language  or  such  persuasive  skill  to  con- 
vince and  enlighten.  A  score  or  more  of  his  essays 
on  general  topics  connected  with  music,  scattered 
through  the  pages  of  the  Journal  of  Music  and 
other  periodicals,  deserve  a  place  alongside  the  best 
writings  of  Ruskin.  They  have  power,  insight, 
grace,  and  charm.  They  are  not  less  needed  to-day 
than  when  they  first  appeared ;  for  they  discuss  the 
primary  and  eternal  significance  of  music  as  an  art, 
its  power  to  enlarge  the  meanings  of  life  and  to 
purify  the  soul 


CHAPTER   X. 
THE    SATURDAY    CLUB. 

Dwight  had  a  taste  for  club  life;  and  he  was 
successively  connected  with  the  Transcendental, 
Town  and  Country,  Saturday,  and  St.  Botolph  Clubs. 
The  first  of  these  clubs  began  in  the  house  of 
George  Ripley,  in  Boston,  in  September,  1836;  and 
at  the  first  meeting  there  were  present  Ripley, 
Emerson,  Hedge,  Francis,  Clarke,  and  Alcott.  To 
the  next  meeting  there  came  Bartol  and  Brownson, 
and  soon  after  Dwight  and  W.  H.  Channing  were 
added  to  the  membership.  In  time  came  also 
Theodore  Parker,  Margaret  Fuller,  Elizabeth  Pea- 
body,  and  others.  Those  who  attended  were  drawn 
together  by  their  common  philosophy,  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  fellowship  and  sympathy  they  were  able 
to  give  each  other.  Out  of  this  club  grew  The  Dial 
and  Brook  Farm ;  but,  when  they  were  fairly  under 
way,  it  came  to  an  end. 

When  Alcott  was  living  in  Boston,  in  1849,  he 
brought  together  at  his  house  a  number  of  his 
friends  for  purposes  of  conversation ;  and  this  meet- 
ing grew  into  the  Town  and  Country  Club.  Its 
membership  included  all  of  those  who  had  been 
connected  with  the  Transcendentalist  Club,  and 
about  one  hundred  others.  The  club  came  to- 
gether at  first  in  order  to  give  a  hearing  to  Mr. 
Alcott,  and  it  was  named  by  Emerson.  There 
were  no  dinners.  A  paper  was  read  in  the  morning, 
and  a  discussion  was  held  in  the  afternoon.     This 


238  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

club  was  described  by  Lowell,  who  was  a  member, 
as  a  "singular  agglomeration.  All  the  persons 
whom  other  folks  think  crazy,  and  who  return  the 
compliment,  belong  to  it.  It  is  as  if  all  the  eccen- 
tric particles  which  had  refused  to  revolve  in  the 
regular  routine  of  the  world's  orbit  had  come  to- 
gether to  make  a  planet  of  their  own."  This  state- 
ment was  perhaps  more  witty  than  truthful ;  for 
among  the  members  were  Emerson,  Garrison, 
Phillips,  Hedge,  Howe,  King,  Whipple,  Higginson, 
Dwight,  Frothingham,  and  Alger.  Higginson  early 
attempted  to  introduce  women  into  the  member- 
ship, but  this  movement  Emerson  brought  to  an 
end  by  crossing  off  their  names  from  the  list  of 
proposed  members.  In  a  few  months  the  necessity 
of  having  a  very  small  sum  from  each  member, 
with  which  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  club, 
brought  it  to  a  sudden  death. 

The  Saturday  Club  originated  in  Emerson's  cus- 
tom of  visiting  Boston  on  the  last  Saturday  of  each 
month  to  take  a  look  at  the  new  books  in  the  "  Old 
Corner  Bookstore "  of  Phillips  &  Sampson,  who 
were  soon  after  succeeded  by  Ticknor  &  Fields. 
He  was  also  in  the  habit  of  dining  on  these  occa- 
sions with  a  few  intimate  friends  at  the  Albion 
restaurant  or  the  Parker  House.  This  practice 
began  with  him  so  early  as  the  time  of  the  Town 
and  Country  Club,  and  was  perhaps  one  of  the 
results  of  the  manner  in  which  its  meetings  were 
conducted.  In  his  diary,  under  date  of  October  14, 
1854,  Alcott  made  this  record:  "Dine  at  the  Al- 


^  &L£.(P<*utu»A  J^y  j/f  /sp% 


CrU*z  J^jL^'L. 


o 


'fam 


<& 


o 

O 
c 
o 


h 


,/H**  - tc  C* 


fat 


*&**..  fas*?- 


r^t^Ly 


M  f.  A 


S.0M. 


Xr*  ie 


£     'jy   ^5£^~ 


Facsimile  of  a  Diagram  of  a   Saturday   Club 
Dinner,  in  the  handwriting  of  John  S.  Dwight. 


a 


'6^U/C- 


AJAJuA 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  239 

bion  with  Emerson,  Lowell,  Whipple,  Dwight, 
Hayne  (of  South  Carolina),  and  Woodman ;  and  we 
arrange  to  meet  there  fortnightly  hereafter  for  con- 
versation." Mr.  Frank  B.  Sanborn  records  in  his 
Life  of  Alcott  that  in  December,  1854,  he  was  at 
the  Albion  with  Emerson,  Dwight,  Alcott,  and  an 
Englishman  by  the  name  of  Cholmondeley,  when 
various  literary  topics  were  discussed.  A  few 
months  later,  during  the  last  week  in  May,  1855,  a 
dinner  was  given  to  Lowell,  at  the  Revere  House, 
by  his  friends.  At  the  head  of  the  table  on  this 
occasion  sat  Longfellow,  and  at  the  foot  Felton. 
On  Longfellow's  right  were  Lowell,  Agassiz,  George 
T.  Davis,  F.  H.  Underwood,  Holmes,  T.  W.  Par- 
sons, Estes  Howe,  Charles  W.  Storey,  H.  Wood- 
man, and  B.  Rolker.  On  his  left  were  Emerson, 
Edmund  Quincy,  Charles  E.  Norton,  J.  S.  Dwight, 
Thomas  G.  Appleton,  William  W.  White,  John 
Holmes,  Robert  Carter,  Henry  Ware,  and  Professor 
Benjamin  Peirce.  It  is  evident  that  the  personal 
and  intellectual  associations  begun  in  the  Transcen- 
dentalist  and  Town  and  Country  Clubs  continued 
even  after  those  clubs  had  ceased  their  existence, 
and  that  from  time  to  time  there  came  together  the 
men  who  composed  them,  with  others  of  the  same 
intellectual  and  literary  interests. 

In  his  biography  of  Richard  Henry  Dana, 
Charles  Francis  Adams  says  that,  when  Emerson 
visited  the  bookstore  of  Phillips  &  Sampson  on 
the  last  Saturday  of  each  month,  he  met  there 
Horatio  Woodman ;   and  by  degrees  they  got  into 


240  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

the  custom  of  going  to  the  old  Albion  restaurant  or 
to  the  Parker  House  to  dine.  At  this  time  Dwight 
was  accustomed  to  dine  at  the  Parker  House,  and 
he  probably  joined  Emerson  whenever  he  was 
there.  Then  Woodman  invited  others,  including 
Samuel  G.  Ward,  a  banker  and  one  of  Emerson's 
friends.  The  next  person  added  to  the  group 
seems  to  have  been  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  the  essayist 
and  lecturer,  then  a  rising  literary  man  in  Boston. 
Woodman  was  a  lawyer,  a  man  of  attractive  social 
qualities,  and  one  who  had  a  gift  for  managing 
such  dinners  as  these.  Mr.  Sanborn  says  :  "  He  had 
no  particular  sympathy  with  the  Transcendentalists, 
except  as  they  became  famous,  but  a  certain  love 
for  literature  and  literary  men.  He  was  also  an  epi- 
cure, knowing  how  to  provide  good  dinners  and  at 
which  Boston  tavern  his  friends  ought  to  dine." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Saturday  Club  owed 
its  existence  to  accidental  causes  or  to  the  demands 
of  intellectual  fellowship.  In  1854  it  had  taken  a 
definite  form,  so  far  at  least  as  it  had  become  an 
established  custom  for  a  few  literary  friends  to  meet 
once  a  fortnight  or  once  a  month  for  a  dinner  and 
literary  conversation.  Longfellow  recorded  in  his 
journal  that  he  dined  with  the  club  Feb.  28,  1857, 
at  the  invitation  of  Agassiz,  and  was  asked  to 
join  it,  which  he  thought  he  would  do.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  club  in  April  the  fiftieth  birthday 
of  Agassiz  was  recognized.  Longfellow  presided, 
and  read  the  poem  beginning,  — 

It  was  fifty  years  ago, 

In  the  pleasant  month  of  May. 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  241 

Clever  and  humorous  poems  were  also  read  by 
Lowell  and  Holmes.  In  September,  Longfellow 
says  that  Charles  Mackay  dined  with  the  club,  that 
the  session  was  a  quiet  one,  and  that  the  heat  of  the 
room  took  away  all  life  and  animation.  He  men- 
tions that  in  May  of  the  next  year  he  again  dined 
with  the  club,  and  that  he  felt  vexed  on  finding 
plover  on  the  table,  and  proclaimed  aloud  his  dis- 
gust at  seeing  the  game  laws  thus  violated.  He 
added  that,  if  any  one  wanted  to  break  a  law,  let 
him  break  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  as  that  is  all  it 
is  fit  for. 

The  fullest  and  most  explicit  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  Saturday  Club  was  that  set  down  in 
his  journal  by  Richard  Henry  Dana,  the  younger, 
under  date  of  Aug.  6,  1857.  "  It  has  become  an  im- 
portant and  much  valued  thing  to  us,"  he  wrote. 
"  The  members  are  Emerson,  Longfellow,  Agassiz, 
Lowell,  Peirce,  Motley,  Whipple,  Judge  Hoar,  Fel- 
ton,  Holmes,  S.  G.  Ward,  J.  S.  Dwight,  H.  Wood- 
man, and  myself.  We  have  no  written  rules,  and 
keep  no  records.  Our  only  object  is  to  dine  to- 
gether once  a  month.  Our  day  is  the  last  Satur- 
day in  every  month,  and  we  dine  at  Parker's.  A 
unanimous  vote  is  required  to  elect  a  member. 
The  expense  of  the  dinner  is  assessed  upon  those 
present,  and  charged  at  the  office,  so  we  have  no 
money  affairs  to  attend  to.  Guests  are  permitted, 
but  each  man  pays  for  the  guest  he  invites.  The 
club  had  an  accidental  origin,  in  a  habit  of  Emer- 
son, Dwight,  Whipple,  and  one  or  two  more  dining 


242  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

at  Woodman's  room  at  Parker's  occasionally;  for 
Woodman  is  a  bachelor,  a  literary  quidnunc  and 
gossip,  or,  as  Gould  says,  '  a  genius  broker.'  Ward 
is  a  friend  of  Emerson's,  and  came.  From  this  the 
club  grew,  Ward,  Dwight,  Woodman,  Whipple,  and 
Emerson  being  the  originals.  Agassiz,  Peirce,  and 
I  were  early  invited  to  meet  with  them.  This  made 
it  more  of  a  regular  thing ;  and  we  established  our 
verbal  rule  as  to  membership,  guests,  and  expenses. 
Lowell  came  in  soon  after,  and  then  Motley  and 
Longfellow.  The  first  formal  vote  we  had  for 
members  was  at  this  stage,  for  up  to  this  time  unani- 
mous consent  was  obtained  by  conversation.  The 
vote  brought  in  Holmes  and  Felton,  which  made  the 
number  fourteen,  as  many  as  we  think  it  best  to 
have." 

The  Saturday  Club  was  sometimes  known  as 
the  Atlantic  Club ;  but  the  two  were  quite  distinct 
from  each  other,  as  Dr.  Holmes  pointed  out.  Long- 
fellow says  that  on  May  5,  1857,  he  dined  at  the 
Parker  House  with  Phillips,  the  publisher,  to  talk 
about  the  new  magazine  the  latter  was  proposing  to 
publish.  The  other  persons  present  were  Emerson, 
Lowell,  Motley,  Holmes,  Cabot,  and  Underwood. 

A  letter  written  by  Moses  Dresser  Phillips,  the 
head  of  the  firm  of  Phillips  &  Sampson,  and  given 
in  Dr.  Hale's  "  James  Russell  Lowell  and  his 
Friends,"  describes  this  first  dinner  given  by  the 
publisher  to  his  contributors.  Dr.  Hale  says  that 
this  was  "  the  first  of  a  series  which  the  Saturday 
Club  of  Boston  has  held  from  that  day  to  this  day," 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  243 

but  in  this  statement  he  is  mistaken.  Mr.  Phillips 
wrote  to  a  relative  in  these  words :  "I  must  tell  you 
about  a  little  dinner  party  I  gave  about  two  weeks 
ago.  It  would  be  proper,  perhaps,  to  state  that  the 
origin  of  it  was  a  desire  to  confer  with  my  literary 
friends  on  a  somewhat  extensive  literary  project, 
the  particulars  of  which  I  shall  reserve  till  you  come. 
But  to  the  party.  My  invitations  included  only 
R.  W.  Emerson,  H.  W,  Longfellow,  J.  R.  Lowell,  Mr. 
Motley  (the  '  Dutch  Republic  '  man),  O.  W.  Holmes, 
Mr.  Cabot,  and  Mr.  Underwood,  our  literary  man. 
Imagine  your  uncle  at  the  head  of  such  a  table,  with 
such  guests.  The  above-named  were  the  only  ones 
invited,  and  they  were  all  present.  We  sat  down 
at  3  p.m.,  and  rose  at  8.  The  time  occupied  was 
longer  by  about  four  hours  and  thirty  minutes  than 
I  am  in  the  habit  of  consuming  in  that  kind  of 
occupation,  but  it  was  the  richest  time  intellectu- 
ally by  all  odds  that  I  have  ever  had.  Leaving  my- 
self and  *  literary  man  '  out  of  the  group,  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
duplicate  that  number  of  such  conceded  scholarship 
in  the  whole  country  besides.  Mr.  Emerson  took 
the  first  post  of  honor  at  my  right,  and  Mr.  Long- 
fellow the  second  at  my  left.  The  exact  arrange- 
ment of  the  table  was  as  follows :  — 


Mr.  Underwood. 

Cabot. 

Lowell. 

Motley. 

Holmes. 

Longfellow. 

Phillips. 

Emerson, 

244  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  They  seemed  so  well  pleased  that  they  adjourned, 
and  invited  me  to  meet  them  again  to-morrow,  when 
I  shall  again  meet  the  same  persons,  with  one  other 
(Whipple,  the  essayist)  added  to  that  brilliant  con- 
stellation of  Philosophical,  Poetical,  and  Historical 
talent.  Each  one  is  known  alike  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  is  read  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
English  language.  Though  all  this  is  known  to 
you,  you  will  pardon  me  for  intruding  it  upon  you. 
But  still  I  have  the  vanity  to  believe  that  you  will 
think  them  the  most  natural  thoughts  in  the  world 
to  me.  Though  I  say  it  that  should  not,  it  was  the 
proudest  day  of  my  life." 

In  i860  James  T.  Fields,  of  Ticknor  &  Fields, 
then  the  publishers  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  break- 
fasted Longfellow,  Bryant,  Holmes,  and  others. 
Such  gatherings  as  these,  called  together  by  the 
publishers  of  the  magazine  to  bring  about  acquaint- 
ance and  good  fellowship  amongst  its  leading  con- 
tributors, and  that  suggestions  might  be  secured  as 
to  its  management,  formed  what  has  properly  been 
called  the  Atlantic  Club.  It  included  many  of  the 
members  of  the  Saturday  Club ;  but  they  were  not 
only  not  the  same,  but  they  had  no  connection  with 
each  other  except  as  the  same  persons  belonged  to 
both.  In  his  biography  of  Emerson,  Dr.  Holmes 
says  that  the  Atlantic  Club  never  had  an  existence, 
and  that  there  had  erroneously  been  supposed  to  be 
some  connection  between  the  Saturday  Club  and 
the  Atlantic  Monthly.  On  the  other  hand,  Francis 
H.  Underwood,  who  took  an  active  part  in  bring- 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  245 

ing  the  magazine  into  existence,  and  who  was  the 
assistant  or  office  editor  for  some  years  from  its 
very  beginning,  said  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Holmes : 
':  You  remember  that  the  contributors  met  for  din- 
ner regularly.  It  was  a  voluntary,  informal  associa- 
tion. The  invitations  and  reminders  were  from  my 
hand,  as  I  conducted  the  correspondence  of  the 
magazine.  I  have  hundreds  of  letters  in  reply,  and 
it  is  my  belief  that  the  association  was  always 
spoken  of  either  as  the  Atlantic  Club  or  the  At- 
lantic dinner.  Your  very  decided  statement  seems 
to  me  (in  the  ordinary  use  of  phrases)  erroneous/' 
In  his  biography  of  Dr.  Holmes,  Mr.  John  T. 
Morse  confounds  the  Atlantic  dinners  and  break- 
fasts with  the  meetings  of  the  Saturday  Club, 
though  Dr.  Holmes  himself  did  not  fall  into  such 
an  error.  He  did  somewhere  speak  of  the  Atlantic 
Club  as  "supposititious,"  and  it  is  this  statement 
against  which  Mr.  Underwood  protested.  The  fact 
seems  to  be  that  the  Atlantic  Club  consisted  only 
of  the  gatherings  of  the  contributors  to  the  Atlantic 
Monthly,  on  invitation  of  the  publishers,  who  on 
such  occasions  gave  them  a  breakfast  or  a  dinner. 

It  was  natural  that  the  Saturday  Club  should 
have  been  given  the  name  of  the  Atlantic  on  the 
part  of  outsiders,  who  recognized  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  members  contributed  to  the  magazine.  The 
Saturday  Club  was  also  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the 
Literary  Club,  and  it  was  popularly  designated  as 
Emerson's  or  Agassiz's  club.  It  was  also  now  and 
again  laughed  at  as  "The  Mutual  Admiration  So- 


246  JOHN    SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

ciety,"  probably  by  those  who  would  have  been 
rejoiced  to  have  secured  entrance  to  it.  Of  this 
designation  of  the  club  Dr.  Holmes  wisely  said, 
41  If  there  was  not  a  certain  amount  of  mutual 
admiration  among  some  of  those  I  have  mentioned 
[as  members],  it  was  a  great  pity,  and  implied  a 
defect  in  the  nature  of  men  who  were  otherwise 
largely  endowed."  In  1859  Richard  Henry  Dana 
dedicated  his  "  To  Cuba  and  Back  "  to  "  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Saturday  Club,"  and  this  fact  suffi- 
ciently fixes  the  name  made  use  of  by  the  members 
from  the  beginning. 

In  his  account  of  the  club,  Dana  says  that  it  was 
thought  best  not  to  have  more  than  fourteen  mem- 
bers. His  biographer  tells  us  that  this  limit  was 
imposed  by  Dana  himself,  and  in  a  somewhat  arbi- 
trary manner.  "  In  other  words,  Dana,  in  this  as 
in  other  cases,  held  himself  high,  and  believed  in 
exclusiveness.  Accordingly,  though  never  allowing 
his  position  to  be  misunderstood,  he  had  been 
liberal  with  his  blackballs.  The  result  was  that,  in 
order  to  elect  any  one,  it  became  necessary  for  the 
other  members  to  watch  for  some  occasion  when 
Dana  was  away,  and  then  rush  in  their  candidate 
before  he  got  back." 

The  original  fourteen  members  of  the  club  appear 
on  its  printed  lists  in  this  order :  Emerson,  Whipple, 
Woodman,  Dwight,  Ward,  R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Agassiz, 
Peirce,  Lowell,  Longfellow,  Motley,  Felton,  Holmes, 
Hoar.  In  1857  the  club  seems  to  have  been  some- 
what more  fully  organized,  and  members  were  ad- 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  247 

mitted  by  a  formal  vote.  Prescott  and  Whittier 
were  admitted  in  1858;  Hawthorne,  Thomas  G. 
Appleton,  and  John  M.  Forbes,  in  1859  ;  Charles  E. 
Norton,  in  i860;  James  Elliot  Cabot,  Samuel  G. 
Howe,  Frederic  Hedge,  and  Estes  Howe,  in  1861 ; 
Charles  Sumner,  in  1862;  Henry  James,  in  1863; 
Martin  Brimmer,  James  T.  Fields,  S.  W.  Rowse, 
and  John  A.  Andrew,  in  1864;  Jeffries  Wyman,  in 
1866;  Edmund  W.  Gurney,  in  1867;  William  M. 
Hunt,  in  1869  ;  Charles  Francis  Adams  and  Charles 
W.  Eliot,  in  1870;  Charles  C.  Perkins,  in  187 1; 
Francis  Parkman,  Alexander  Agassiz,  Richard 
Henry  Dana,  Sr.,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  Horace  Gray, 
and  Edward  N.  Perkins,  in  1873;  Asa  Gray  and 
William  Dean  Howells,  in  1874;  Edmund  Quincy 
and  Edward  L.  Godkin,  in  1875;  William  B. 
Rogers,  William  Amory,  James  Freeman  Clarke, 
Phillips  Brooks,  William  W.  Story,  and  George  F. 
Hoar,  in  1877;  John  Lowell  and  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  Jr.,  in  1880;  Theodore  Lyman  and  Will- 
iam James,  in  1881  ;  Francis  A.  Walker  and  Charles 
F.  Adams,  Jr.,  in  1882;  Frederick  Law  Olmsted, 
Raphael  Pumpelly,  H.  H.  Richardson,  and  William 
Endicott,  Jr.,  in  1883;  William  C.  Endicott  and 
William  W.  Goodwin,  in  1885. 

Before  this  last  date  the  club  had  adopted  an  in- 
formal organization  ;  and  Dr.  Holmes  was  the  presi- 
dent, with  his  son  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  In 
1886  William  Amory  made  a  gift  of  five  hundred 
dollars  to  the  club ;  and,  in  order  to  hold  this  sum 
of  money,  it  was  incorporated.     The  act  of  incorpo- 


248  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

ration  was  dated  Feb.  i,  1886,  and  says  that  "Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes,  J.  R.  Lowell,  John  S.  Dwight, 
Ebenezer  R.  Hoar,  Charles  W.  Eliot,  E.  P.  Whipple, 
and  J.  M.  Forbes  have  associated  themselves  with 
the  intention  of  forming  a  corporation  under  the 
name  of  The  Saturday  Club,  for  the  purpose  of  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  place  for  social 
meetings,  and  for  having  conversation  and  discus- 
sion upon  historical,  literary,  scientific,  and  artistic 
subjects,  and  to  hold  and  expend  any  funds  given  or 
bequeathed  for  its  support." 

Two  days  previous  to  the  date  of  incorporation 
the  club  adopted  a  simple  form  of  organization, 
which  provided  for  a  president,  three  directors,  a 
clerk  and  treasurer,  to  be  elected  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  January  in  each  year.  New  members 
are  to  be  elected  by  ballot ;  the  regular  meetings  are 
to  be  held  on  the  last  Saturday  of  each  calendar 
month,  except  July,  August,  and  September,  at  the 
Parker  House  in  Boston ;  and  the  corporation  is 
not  to  make  any  assessment  upon  the  members  nor 
incur  any  debt.  Following  the  incorporation  of  the 
club,  John  C.  Gray  and  Edward  C.  Pickering  were 
admitted  in  1887;  Thomas  B.  Aldrich,  in  1888; 
Edward  Waldo  Emerson,  in  1889;  Walbridge  A. 
Field,  in  1891  ;  Henry  L.  Higginson,  Edward  W. 
Hooper,  and  Henry  P.  Walcott,  in  1893.  During 
the  three  years  following,  William  Sturgis  Bigelow, 
Samuel  Hoar,  Charles  S.  Sargent,  and  Moorfield 
Storey  were  admitted.  More  recent  additions  have 
been  Charles  Francis  Adams,  2d,  Charles  R.  Cod- 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  249 

man,  James  M.  Crafts,  William  G.  Farlow,  John 
Fiske,  Richard  Olney,  and  Roger  Wolcott. 

When  the  club  was  incorporated,  Dr.  Holmes  was 
elected  president,  which  position  he  held  until  his 
death.  He  was  succeeded  by  Walbridge  A.  Field, 
chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts. Among  those  who  have  served  as  directors 
have  been  Ebenezer  R.  Hoar  and  Charles  W.  Eliot. 
Professor  William  W.  Goodwin,  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, has  been  the  clerk  and  treasurer  for  a  con- 
siderable number  of  years. 

An  interesting  incident  in  the  early  history  of  the 
club  was  that  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  and  E.  Rock- 
wood  Hoar,  living  at  Concord,  to  which  the  Fitch- 
burg  Road  then  had  no  train  running  after  the  club 
broke  up,  were  obliged  to  leave  in  the  midst  of  the 
session  or  remain  in  town  over  the  night  and  Sun- 
day. Under  these  conditions,  Judge  Hoar  provided 
a  remedy  by  having  his  carryall  meet  them  at  Wal- 
tham,  and  convey  them  to  their  homes.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  this  last  part  of  the  journey  may  have 
had  in  store  the  best  wine  of  the  feast ;  for  Lowell 
describes  Agassiz  at  the  club  meetings  as  listening 
intently  to  Hoar, 

Pricked  with  the  cider  of  the  Judge's  wit 
(Ripe-hearted  homebrew,  fresh  and  fresh  again). 

The  reason  for  this  night  ride  will  be  seen  from  a 
note  made  by  Emerson  in  his  journal  in  1862: 
"  Cramped  for  time  at  the  club,  by  late  dinner  and 
early  hour   of    the    return    train, —  a  cramp   which 


250  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

spoils  a  club.  For  you  shall  not,  if  you  wish  good 
fortune,  even  take  the  pains  to  secure  your  right- 
and-left-hand  men.  The  least  design  instantly 
makes  an  obligation  to  make  their  time  agreeable, 
—  which  I  can  never  assume." 

Another  incident  was  the  formation  of  the  Adi- 
rondack Club,  which  in  August,  1858,  made  an  ex- 
cursion into  the  wilderness  of  the  Adirondack 
Mountains.  The  party  consisted  of  Emerson, 
Lowell,  Agassiz,  Hoar,  John  Holmes,  Wyman, 
W.  J.  Stillman,  Estes  Howe,  and  Woodman.  Lowell 
was  the  leader  and  planned  the  excursion,  though 
Woodman  seems  to  have  been  the  practical  guide 
and  factotum.  A  rough  hut  was  built  on  the  shore 
of  Follansbee  Pond,  flannel  shirts  were  worn,  fir 
boughs  and  blankets  furnished  the  beds,  and  the 
fare  was  the  fish  and  game  of  the  wilderness. 
After  breakfast  each  morning  a  mark  was  shot  at, 
which  Agassiz  once  hit,  having  never  before  fired 
a  gun,  and  steadily  refusing  to  do  so  again. 
Emerson  bought  a  rifle  which  he  seems  not  to  have 
used.  A  guide  one  night  paddled  him  into  the 
lake,  and  a  deer  was  pointed  out  to  him ;  but  he  did 
not  shoot.  This  trip  was  described  by  Emerson  in 
his  poem  called  "  The  Adirondacks,"  published  in 
his  "  May-day,  and  Other  Pieces,"  1867.  He  fitly 
described  the  wild  life  of  the  woods,  saying  that 

No  placard  on  these  rocks  warned  to  the  polls, 

No  door-bell  heralded  a  visitor, 

No  courier  waits,  no  letter  came  or  went, 

Nothing  was  ploughed  or  reaped  or  bought  or  sold. 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  251 

He  describes  how  Agassiz  and  Wyman  dissected 
the  deer,  trout,  and  other  creatures  slain  in  wood 
and  water;  and  he  thus  speaks  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  other  members  of  the  party  spent  their 
time :  — 

All  day  we  swept  the  lake,  searched  every  cove, 
Watching  when  the  loud  dogs  should  drive  in  deer, 
Or  whipping  its  rough  surface  for  a  trout ; 
Or  bathers,  diving  from  the  rock  at  noon ; 
Challenging  Echo  by  our  guns  and  cries  ; 
Or  listening  to  the  laughter  of  the  loon ; 
Or,  in  the  evening  twilight's  latest  red, 
Beholding  the  procession  of  the  pines  ; 
Or,  later  yet,  beneath  a  lighted  jack, 
In  the  boat's  bows,  a  silent  night-hunter 
Stealing  with  paddle  to  the  feeding-grounds 
Of  the  red  deer,  to  aim  at  a  square  mist. 

Longfellow  refused  pointedly  to  go  on  this  ex- 
cursion, because  he  had  heard  that  Emerson  had 
bought  a  gun,  and  he  keenly  felt  the  danger  which 
might  arise  from  such  an  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  a  philosopher, —  one  more  familiar  with  the  infi- 
nite than  with  powder  and  game.  When  asked 
why  he  would  not  join  the  party,  he  said,  "  Some- 
body will  be  shot." 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  Saturday  Club, 
Horatio  Woodman  was  its  purveyor,  giving  vol- 
untary attention  to  the  menu  and  the  other  necessi- 
ties of  its  existence.  He  was  a  clever  and  a  witty 
man,  and  by  his  genial  comradeship  won  the  friend- 
ship of  men  who  were  drawn  to  him  because  of  his 
kindly  qualities.     Dr.   Holmes  says   that    the  club 


252  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

had  no  Boswell,  and  its  golden  hours  passed  unre- 
corded. Mr.  Adams  expresses  the  regret  that  Wood- 
man did  not  serve  it  in  this  capacity,  for  he  had  all 
the  qualities  that  would  have  made  him  successful 
in  such  a  role,  adding  that  "  he  had  a  craving  for 
the  acquaintance  and  society  of  men  of  reputation, 
and  indeed  lacked  only  the  industry  to  have  been 
a  sort  of  Boswell.  In  connection  with  the  Saturday 
Club,  also,  an  abundant  field  of  interesting  gossip 
and  reminiscence  opened  before  him,  had  he  known 
enough  to  labor  in  it.  An  amusing  story-teller, 
with  a  natural  eye  for  character  and  a  well-developed 
sense  of  humor,  Woodman  had  at  his  command  an 
almost  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdotes  relating  to 
the  men  who  in  those  days  made  the  Parker  House 
and  its  somewhat  famous  restaurant  a  sort  of  head- 
quarters. Though  during  the  Rebellion  he  was  suf- 
ficiently active  and  prominent  to  have  been  offered 
the  position  of  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  yet,  in 
his  own  mind,  the  great  achievement  of  his  life 
was  the  founding  of  the  Saturday  Club,  and  his 
connection  with  that  club,  which  could  only  have 
come  about  through  his  being  its  founder,  was  the 
thing  of  which  he  most  prided  himself." 

Horatio  Woodman  was  born  in  Buxton,  Me., 
March  18,  1821.  He  studied  law  in  Boston,  and 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar  devoted  himself  to 
land-warrant  business,  and  became  a  large  owner  of 
Western  lands.  After  the  Civil  War,  through  the 
influence  of  Governor  John  A.  Andrew,  who  was 
his  warmest  friend,  he  carried  on  an  extensive  busi- 


THE    SATURDAY   CLUB  253 

ness  before  the  claims  and  pension  departments  at 
Washington.  He  was  lost  from  the  Sound  steamer 
on  his  way  from  New  York  to  Boston,  January  2, 
1879. 

After  the  marriage  of  Woodman,  in  1877,  it 
seems  to  have  in  part  fallen  upon  Dwight  to  man- 
age the  affairs  of  the  club.  Writing  to  a  friend  in 
October,  1877,  ne  said:  "We  had  a  delightful  club 
dinner  yesterday.  William  Story  sat  at  my  side. 
J.  F.  Clarke,  too,  was  there  as  a  new  member,  and 
seemed  radiantly  happy ;  also  Bayard  Taylor,  who 
is  giving  a  course  of  Lowell  lectures  on  German 
literature, —  how  that  would  have  interested  you  ! 
I  had  a  long  talk  with  him  and  Dr.  Hedge  on  the 
Nibelungen  Lied ;  and  in  the  evening  I  heard  him 
lecture  on  that  subject,  which  was  very  interesting. 
His  lectures  are  crowded."  Some  of  Dwight's  plans 
for  seating  the  members  and  guests,  preserved  by 
him,  indicate  who  were  present  or  expected  on  cer- 
tain dates.  Thus,  in  April,  1873,  his  sketch  pro- 
vides for  Holmes,  Dana,  Adams,  Howe,  Dwight, 
Eliot,  Hoar,  and  Estes  Howe.  In  May  of  the 
same  year  twenty-one  members  were  present  and 
eight  guests.  On  this  occasion  Longfellow  sat  at 
the  head  of  the  table  and  Agassiz  at  the  foot.  On 
the  right  of  the  chairman  were  Robert  Dale  Owen, 
Parkman,  Perkins,  Dana,  Appleton,  Dwight,  Judge 
Kent,  Holmes,  Adams,  Senator  Boutwell,  Forbes, 
Wyman,  and  Professor  Gurney.  On  his  left  were 
Emerson,  H.  W.  Bellows,  Hedge,  Henry  James, 
Fields,    Eliot,   Hoar,  Count    Corti,    C.  C.   Perkins, 


254  JOHN    SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Cabot,  Rev.  Charles  H.  Brigham,  H.  G.  Denny, 
Whipple,  and  Dr.  E.  H.  Clark.  The  journal  of 
Richard  Henry  Dana  gives  the  reason  for  so  large 
an  attendance.  "  Our  club  dined  to-day,"  he  wrote, 
—  "  the  largest  number  we  ever  sat  down,  partly  as 
the  last  of  the  season,  to  which  many  come,  but 
chiefly  to  welcome  Emerson  on  his  return  from 
Europe  and  Egypt.  It  was  really  rather  a  brilliant 
gathering.  Yet,  as  we  sit  at  a  long  table,  and  the 
room  is  on  the  street  and,  being  warm,  the  windows 
open,  we  have  no  general  conversation.  All  the 
talking  is  in  sets  of  two  to  four  each.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  dinner  we  change  places  a  little.  Emer- 
son looks  years  younger  for  his  European  tour,  and 
is  in  good  spirits." 

Dana  was  wrong  in  saying  that  this  was  the  last 
meeting  of  the  season,  for  at  the  June  dinner  Emer- 
son sat  at  the  head  of  the  table  and  Agassiz  at  the 
foot.  There  were  present  Holmes,  Brimmer,  Peirce, 
Forbes,  Cabot,  Dwight,  Howe,  and  Hoar,  with 
Weiss  and  Barnard  as  guests.  At  the  January 
meeting  of  1877,  Judge  Hoar  was  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  and  opposite  him  was  Edmund  Quincy.  On 
the  right  of  the  chairman  were  Holmes,  Harding, 
C.  C.  Perkins,  Brimmer,  Estes  Howe,  and  Dwight; 
and  on  his  left  were  Emerson,  Parkman,  Gibbs, 
Gray,  Godkin,  Norton,  and  Edward  N.  Perkins. 

A  pleasant  episode  in  the  history  of  the  club  was 
the  admittance  of  Richard  Henry  Dana,  Sr.,  the 
author  of  "  The  Buccaneer,"  "  The  Idle  Man,"  and 
other  works  in   prose  and  poetry,  as  an  honorary 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  255 

member  of  the  club,  the  only  person  accorded  such 
distinction.  Under  the  date  of  Oct.  28,  1873,  the 
younger  Dana  wrote  in  his  journal :  "Yesterday  my 
father  had  a  great  success  and  pleasure.  I  took 
him  to  the  club  to  dine.  We  had  Emerson,  Long- 
fellow, Agassiz,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Sumner, 
Holmes,  Judge  Hoar,  President  Eliot,  and  others, 
our  usual  set;  and,  after  a  while,  Emerson  rose 
and  asked  a  moment's  attention,  and  said :  '  We  are 
gratified  to-day  by  the  presence  of  Mr.  Dana.  He 
has  a  higher  as  well  as  an  older  claim  on  the  re- 
spect and  honor  of  men  of  letters  and  lovers  of  litera- 
ture than  any  of  us  here,  and  we  must  not  let  the 
occasion  go  by  without  an  expression  of  our  feeling 
towards  him.  I  propose  that,  instead  of  nominat- 
ing him  for  election  as  a  regular  member  of  the 
club,  which  we  would  gladly  have  done  years  ago, 
we  unanimously  declare  him  an  honorary  member 
and  permanent  guest  of  the  club,'  etc.  Agassiz  put 
the  question,  and  they  all  rose  to  their  feet  in  re- 
sponse, and  gave  him  a  hearty  cheer.  It  was  very 
gratifying,  touching,  and  in  the  best  possible  taste." 
During  the  first  decade  of  its  existence,  at  least, 
before  other  clubs  in  great  numbers  had  been  or- 
ganized, the  Saturday  Club  was  of  real  service  to 
its  members.  It  gave  them  social  recreation,  and 
it  brought  them  mental  stimulus.  It  brought  to- 
gether many  distinguished  people,  as  Dr.  Holmes 
mentions ;  and  it  was  a  place  where  the  intellectual 
leaders  of  the  city  could  meet  men  from  other  cities 
and  other  countries  in  a  friendly  and  happy  way. 


256  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

"  At  one  end  of  the  table,"  says  Dr.  Holmes,  "  sat 
Longfellow,  florid,  quiet,  benignant,  soft-voiced,  a 
most  agreeable  rather  than  a  brilliant  talker,  but  a 
man  upon  whom  it  was  always  pleasant  to  look, 
—  whose  silence  was  better  than  any  other  man's 
conversation.  At  the  other  end  of  the  table  sat 
Agassiz,  robust,  sanguine,  animated,  full  of  talk,  boy- 
like in  his  laughter."  Mrs.  Agassiz  says  that  her 
husband  was  especially  attached  to  the  club ;  and 
Dr.  Holmes  remarks  that  "the  most  jovial  man  at 
table  was  Agassiz,  his  laugh  was  that  of  a  big  giant." 
Around  him  were  usually  grouped  the  men  of  wit, 
and  those  who  most  enjoyed  laughter  and  fun.  In 
this  connection  Jules  Marcou,  the  biographer  of 
Agassiz,  has  said  that  the  members  "  lingered  long 
round  the  table,  while  hour  after  hour  passed  in 
animated  conversation,  in  which  bon  mots  and  rep- 
artees were  exchanged  as  rapidly  as  a  discharge  of 
fireworks, —  an  encounter  of  anecdote,  wit,  and  eru- 
dition. At  such  times  Agassiz  was  at  his  best,  with 
his  inexhaustible  bonhomie.  With  a  lighted  cigar 
in  each  hand,  he  would  force  the  attention  of  every 
one  around  him.  Excited  by  the  pyrotechnic  wit 
of  James  Russell  Lowell,  Judge  Rockwell  Hoar,  and 
Dr.  Holmes,  Agassiz,  whose  vivid  imagination  was 
always  on  the  qui  vive,  was  not  a  man  to  let  others 
eclipse  him.  Then  would  come  one  of  his  made- 
up  stories, —  a  mixture  of  dream  and  science.  If  he 
thought  any  one  in  the  company  was  doubting  its 
truth,  he  would  look  at  him  with  a  dumb  request 
not  to  betray  him.     On  the  next  occasion  he  would 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  257 

repeat  the  same  story  without  any  hesitation ;  and 
the  third  time  he  told  it  he  was  sure  that  it  really 
happened,  and  was  true." 

Lowell  said  nothing  about  the  club  in  his  letters, 
so  far  as  they  have  been  published ;  but  he  wrote 
to  Motley,  when  ambassador  of  the  United  States 
to  Great  Britain,  "  I  have  never  seen  society,  on  the 
whole,  so  good  as  I  used  to  meet  at  our  Saturday 
Club."  In  his  memorial  poem  to  Agassiz,  however, 
he  described  the  club  with  a  poet's  appreciation  and 
sympathy.  Of  Agassiz  and  his  place  at  the  table 
these  are  his  words :  — 

Once  more  I  see  him  at  the  table's  head 
When  Saturday  her  monthly  banquet  spread 

To  scholars,  poets,  wits, 
All  choice,  some  famous,  loving  things,  not  names, 
And  so  without  a  twinge  at  others'  fames ; 

Such  company  as  wisest  moods  befits, 
Yet  with  no  pedant  blindness  to  the  worth 
Of  undeliberate  mirth, 
Natures  benignly  mixed  of  air  and  earth, 
Now  with  the  stars  and  now  with  equal  zest 
Tracing  the  eccentric  orbit  of  a  jest. 

Again  he  says  of  Agassiz :  — 

Ample  and  ruddy,  the  board's  end  he  fills 
As  he  our  fireside  were,  our  light  and  heat, 

Centre  where  minds  diverse  and  various  skills 

Find  their  warm  nook  and  stretch  unhampered  feet. 

I  see  the  firm  benignity  of  face, 

Wide-smiling  champaign,  without  tameness  sweet, 

The  mass  Teutonic  toned  to  Gallic  grace, 


258  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

The  eyes  whose  sunshine  runs  before  the  lips 
While  Holmes's  rockets  curve  their  long  ellipse, 
And  burst  in  seeds  the  fire  that  burst  again 
To  drop  in  scintillating  rain. 

Later  on  in  the  poem  he  describes  the  breaking 
up  of  the  club  meeting,  and  says :  — 

Now  forth  into  the  darkness  all  are  gone, 
But  memory,  still  unsated,  follows  on, 
Retracing  step  by  step  our  homeward  walk, 
With  many  a  laugh  among  our  serious  talk. 

Then  follows  an  account  of  his  conversations 
with  Agassiz  as  they  find  their  way  homeward,  and 
of  the  reluctant  "  Good-night "  with  which  they 
parted  from  each  other  when  the  end  of  their  walk 
had  been  reached. 

Dr.  Holmes  said  that  he  was  not  able  to  forget 
the  very  modest,  delicate,  musical  way  in  which 
Longfellow  read  his  charming  verse  addressed  to 
Agassiz  on  the  occasion  of  his  fiftieth  birthday; 
and  Mrs.  Agassiz  says  the  poet  had  an  exquisite 
touch  for  occasions  of  this  kind,  whether  serious  or 
mirthful.  If  the  wit  and  laughter  of  the  club 
flowed  around  Agassiz,  the  quieter  conversation 
secured  its  opportunity  near  Longfellow,  on  whose 
left  Emerson  most  often  found  his  place.  Long- 
fellow often  spoke  of  the  club  in  his  diary,  and  with 
evident  enjoyment  and  appreciation  of  its  meetings. 
He  seldom  does  more  than  mention  his  attendance, 
with  perhaps  some  brief  word  as  to  who  was  pres- 
ent and  what  was  done  of  special  importance ;  but 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  259 

his  frequent  reference  to  it  indicates  how  much  it 
was  in  his  life  for  some  years. 

Emerson  was  described  by  Dr.  Holmes  as  usually 
sitting  near  the  Longfellow  end  of  the  table,  "  talk- 
ing in  low  tones  and  carefully  measured  utterances 
to  his  neighbor,  or  listening  and  recording  any  stray 
word  worth  remembering  on  his  mental  photo- 
graph." "  I  went  to  the  club  last  Saturday,"  wrote 
Holmes  to  Motley  in  April,  1870,  "and  met  some 
of  the  friends  you  always  like  to  hear  of.  I  sat  by 
the  side  of  Emerson,  who  always  charms  me  with 
his  delicious  voice,  his  fine  sense  and  wit,  and  the 
delicate  way  he  steps  about  among  the  words  of  his 
vocabulary,  and  at  last  seizing  his  noun  or  ad- 
jective,—  the  best,  the  only  one  which  would  serve 
the  need  of  his  thought."  "  I  well  remember 
amongst  other  things,"  says  Dr.  Holmes  again, 
"  how  the  club  would  settle  itself  to  listen  when 
Dana  had  a  story  to  tell.  Not  a  word  was  missed, 
and  those  who  were  absent  were  told  at  the  next 
club  what  they  had  lost.  Emerson  smoked  his 
cigar  and  was  supremely  happy,  and  laughed  under 
protest  when  the  point  of  the  story  was  reached." 
Probably  no  one  attended  the  club  more  regularly 
than  Emerson,  for  he  greatly  enjoyed  the  meetings ; 
and  he  was  wont  to  praise  the  brilliant  conversation 
he  heard  there.  His  own  attitude  was  that  of  an 
eager  listener,  and  he  took  less  satisfaction  in  speak- 
ing himself  than  in  hearing  the  clever  men  about 
him.  In  1864,  when  the  club  held  a  Shaksperean 
anniversary  meeting,  he  rose  to  speak,  stood  for  a 


260  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

minute  or  two,  and  then  quietly  sat  down.  Speech 
did  not  come,  and  he  serenely  permitted  silence  to 
speak  for  him.  Emerson  continued  his  connection 
with  the  club  until  about  1875,  always  taking  a 
warm  interest  in  the  meetings  until  his  failing 
speech  and  memory  made  them  no  longer  attrac- 
tive to  him. 

No  one  can  doubt  that  Dr.  Holmes  furnished  his 
full  share  of  the  wit  and  wisdom  of  the  club.  He 
has  written  of  it  in  his  biographies  of  Motley  and 
Emerson,  as  well  as  on  other  occasions.  In  his 
letters  it  was  a  frequent  subject  of  mention,  espe- 
cially to  those  correspondents,  like  Motley  and 
Lowell,  who  were  themselves  members  of  the  club. 
He  first  mentioned  it  in  his  biography  of  Motley, 
and  then  said  that  "  it  offered  a  wide  gamut  of  in- 
telligences, and  the  meetings  were  noteworthy  oc- 
casions. The  vitality  of  this  club  has  depended  in 
a  great  measure  on  its  utter  poverty  in  statutes  and 
by-laws,  its  entire  absence  of  formalism,  and  its 
blessed  freedom  from  speech-making."  His  biog- 
rapher says  that  outside  of  his  own  front  door  there 
was  nothing  that  gave  him  so  much  pleasure  as  did 
the  Saturday  Club.  "  He  loved  it.  He  hugged  the 
thought  of  it."  He  could  not  keep  its  affairs  out 
of  his  letters,  and  he  gossiped  about  its  doings  with 
a  flowing  pen.  Evidently,  it  had  a  large  place  in  his 
heart,  because  of  the  fellowship  it  gave  him,  and 
because  of  the  noble  men  with  whom  it  brought 
him  into  frequent  contact. 

In  writing  to  Motley  in  February,  1861,  Holmes 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  261 

shows  how  important  the  club  had  already  become 
in  his  life;  for  he  says:  "The  club  has  flourished 
greatly,  and  proved  to  all  of  us  a  source  of  the 
greatest  delight.  I  do  not  believe  there  ever  were 
such  agreeable  periodical  meetings  in  Boston  as 
these  we  have  had  at  Parker's."  Writing  to  the 
same  friend  in  1865,  he  again  expresses  his  interest 
in  the  club  meetings.  "  What  a  fine  thing  it  would 
be,"  he  says,  "  to  see  you  back  at  the  Saturday  Club 
again  !  Longfellow  has  begun  to  come  again.  He 
was  at  his  old  place  —  the  end  of  the  table  —  at  our 
last  meeting.  We  have  had  a  good  many  of  the 
notabilities  here  within  the  last  three  or  four 
months,  and  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  have 
some  pleasant  talks  with  most  of  them."  "  We 
come  together  on  Saturdays  and  have  good  talks, 
and  pleasant,"  he  says  in  187 1,  "rather  than  jolly 
times.  Many  of  your  old  friends  are  commonly 
there, —  among  the  rest,  Sumner,  not  rarely.  There 
is  a  great  deal  of  good  feeling,  I  think,  in  our  little 
circle  of  literary  and  scientific  people.  I  find  Long- 
fellow peculiarly  sweet  in  disposition,  gentle,  sooth- 
ing to  be  with,  not  commonly  brilliant  in  conversa- 
tion, but  at  times  very  agreeable,  and  saying  excel- 
lent things  with  a  singular  modesty."  Ten  years 
later  many  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  club. 
Some  of  the  members  had  died,  and  others  had 
gone  away  to  Europe  or  were  too  far  away  from 
Boston  to  attend  the  meetings.  "  I  go  to  the  Satur- 
day Club  quite  regularly,"  wrote  Dr.  Holmes  to 
Lowell  in    1883;    "but    the    company    is    more  of 


262  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

ghosts  than  of  flesh  and  blood  for  me."  He  la- 
mented the  fact  that  Longfellow,  Agassiz,  Emerson, 
Lowell,  Hawthorne,  Motley,  and  Sumner  no  longer 
attended,  and  added,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  belonged  to  the 
past."  He  proposed,  however,  with  the  aid  of  the 
younger  members,  to  keep  the  club  alive  until 
Lowell  could  return  to  give  some  fresh  life  to  it. 
He  had  already  lamented  that  the  club  was  not 
what  it  was  when  Lowell  had  attended  its  meetings. 
Finally,  in  1890,  he  complained  that  he  hardly  saw 
a  face  of  the  old  times  except  those  of  Dwight  and 
Hoar,  "  where  we  used  to  have  those  brilliant  gather- 
ings." His  biographer  says  that  probably  no  other 
member  of  the  club  felt  about  it  as  Dr.  Homes  did, 
and  adds  that,  of  all  who  sat  at  its  table,  he  was  by 
far  the  most  brilliant  talker.  We  may  accept  this 
opinion  without  admitting  the  truthfulness  of  Mr. 
Morse's  statement  that,  if  Holmes  had  travelled 
largely,  he  would  have  held  the  club  in  less  esteem. 
Such  a  statement  falsely  assumes  that  more  of  cos- 
mopolitanism would  have  made  Dr.  Holmes  another 
man,  and  would  have  saved  him  from  enjoying  the 
men  he  met  at  the  Saturday  Club. 

Mr.  Samuel  G.  Ward,  a  resident  of  Washing- 
ton, is  the  only  original  member  of  the  club  now 
living.  The  other  oldest  members  are  Senator 
Hoar,  Professor  Norton,  President  C.  W.  Eliot, 
Judge  Gray,  E.  L,  Godkin,  and  Wolcott  Gibbs. 
There  is  not  in  the  club  at  present  so  large  a  num- 
ber of  literary  men  as  formerly.  A  member  said 
of   the  club,  in   1884,  that   Dr.   Holmes  was    then 


THE    SATURDAY    CLUB  263 

president ;  and  he  was  always  present  at  the  din- 
ners, and  so  were  Judge  Hoar  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Forbes. 
These  three,  with  a  few  intimate  friends,  like  Lowell 
and  James  Freeman  Clarke,  who  came  less  fre- 
quently, kept  up  a  steady  fire  of  bright  sayings  and 
jokes,  to  which  the  younger  generation  were  often 
glad  to  listen  in  silence.  Since  the  death  of  Dr. 
Holmes  and  Judge  Hoar  everything  is  changed  in 
this  respect;  but  the  dinners  of  the  club  still  re- 
main as  social  and  perfectly  informal  as  ever,  though 
the  old  leaders  are  gone. 

For  twenty  years,  beginning  about  1856,  the 
Saturday  was  the  leading  club  of  Boston;  and  it 
contained  most  of  the  men  of  wit,  brilliant  parts, 
and  literary  reputation,  who  lived  in  or  near  the 
city.  It  was  a  gathering  of  genial  friends,  who 
sought  good-fellowship  and  intellectual  relaxation. 
The  meetings  were  social,  and  not  literary.  No 
essays  were  read,  and  no  lectures  were  given. 
At  one  meeting  of  the  club,  when  a  reporter  forced 
his  way  into  the  room  before  dinner,  and  asked 
Dr.  Holmes  what  subjects  were  to  be  discussed,  he 
received  the  reply :  "  We  do  nothing  but  tell  our 
old  stories.     We  never  discuss  anything." 

Except  on  rare  occasions  the  literary  part  of  the 
meeting  consisted  of  conversation  only.  The  dinner 
was  the  central  object,  and  that  was  expected  to 
bring  out  quite  enough  of  social  chat  and  conversa- 
tional stir  of  thought  to  give  the  meetings  a  real 
interest.  There  being  no  rules  to  observe  and  no 
red  tape  to  follow,  the  meetings  were  purely  infor- 


264  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

mal,  and  therefore  cheerful  and  cordial.  All  the 
members  knew  each  other  intimately,  and  conse- 
quently felt  quite  at  home  with  each  other,  and 
ready  for  the  free  expression  of  thought  and  senti- 
ment. Already  the  club  has  assumed  a  consider- 
able importance  in  the  literary  history  of  Boston, 
and  that  importance  is  likely  to  increase  as  the 
history  of  the  club  is  more  fully  known,  and  as  its 
members  are  looked  at  from  a  time  more  remote. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
PERSONAL    TRAITS. 

Dwight  was  a  small  man,  short,  slender,  with  a 
most  genial  face,  kindly  and  benevolent.  He  had 
great  sweetness  of  nature,  was  most  companionable 
and  sympathetic;  but  he  was  sometimes  irritable, 
and  one  of  his  friends  said  that  he  was  on  occasion 
"pretty  peppery."  He  was  self-conscious,  bashful, 
sensitive,  and  extremely  diffident.  It  was  not  un- 
usual for  him,  especially  as  a  young  man,  to  blush 
painfully ;  and  this  trait  he  never  wholly  overcame. 
In  general  society  he  was  shy  and  retreating,  and 
he  never  outgrew  this  extreme  sensitiveness.  On 
the  occasion  of  his  first  performing  the  marriage 
service  he  was  so  much  impressed  that  he  broke 
into  tears,  and  had  to  pause  to  recover  himself. 
Undoubtedly,  this  extreme  bashfulness,  want  of  self- 
confidence  and  self-assertion,  had  much  to  do  with 
his  retirement  from  the  pulpit.  One  of  his  intimate 
friends  in  the  same  profession  says  he  had  faith 
enough,  and  his  beliefs  were  positive  enough,  but 
he  was  too  diffident. 

One  who  knew  Dwight  for  many  years,  and  came 
into  close  business  relations  with  him,  says  that  he 
was  very  quiet  and  mild-mannered,  had  no  bitter- 
ness in  his  nature,  but  that  he  was  very  positive  in 
his  opinions.  He  wasted  no  time  on  trivial  matters, 
told  no  stories,  but  was  very  enthusiastic  about 
everything  which  interested  him.  This  reserve  or 
exclusiveness  was  not  in  any  degree  the  result  of 


266  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

hauteur  or  contempt  for  others.     At  heart  he  was 
one  of  the  most  thoroughly  democratic  of  men. 

Like  all  men  of  vivid  aesthetic  appreciations,  he 
was  essentially  an  aristocrat  in  his  intellectual  pref- 
erences and  in  the  exquisite  love  of  beauty  which 
guided  his  tastes.  He  had  the  artistic  tempera- 
ment, and  he  had  that  keen  sensitiveness  to  what  is 
happy  and  beautiful  which  that  temperament  usually 
gives  to  those  who  possess  it. 

Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  who  knew  Dwight  at  the 
period  of  his  married  life,  says  that  he  went  into 
society  much,  and  that  he  greatly  enjoyed  it.  He 
was  a  favorite  in  the  cultured  society  of  the  Boston 
of  that  time,  because  of  his  easy  way  of  accepting 
things,  and  because  of  his  literary  and  musical  gifts. 
He  was  a  quiet,  sunny,  beaming  person.  If  she 
met  him  in  the  street,  he  always  stopped  to  talk  in 
a  cheery  way,  but  always  about  subjects  of  intel- 
lectual interest,  not  about  the  gossip  of  the  day. 
His  usual  topic  was  books  or  music. 

Dwight  had  very  little  practical  talent,  was  al- 
most helpless  about  the  simple  details  of  daily  liv- 
ing. During  the  time  of  his  married  life  his  wife 
watched  over  him  almost  as  a  mother  would  over 
her  wayward  boy,  for  she  had  the  practical  gifts  in 
which  he  was  so  deficient.  He  had  no  faculty  for 
making  money,  had  little  appreciation  of  its  value, 
was  all  his  life  poor,  and  was  not  capable  of  getting 
on  in  a  thrifty  and  saving  way  of  life. 

The  genial  and  sympathetic  nature  of  our  sub- 
ject has  been  well  described  in  a  contribution  for 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  267 

these  pages  from  the  pen  of  the  venerable  and  in- 
cisive preacher,  Cyrus  A.  Bartol,  who  knew  Dwight 
through  many  years  of  intimate  association.  "  John 
S.  Dwight  was  as  gentle  as  the  apostle  whose  name 
he  bore,"  says  Dr.  Bartol.  "  Sixty  years  ago  he 
startled  the  audience  he  addressed  by  declaring 
that  God  is  not  to  be  feared,  as  the  Bible  exhorts, 
but  only  loved.  When  blamed  for  his  opinions,  he 
could  not  make  a  harsh,  but  only  a  smiling  reply. 
He  was  musical  in  his  writing  and  in  every  mood 
of  his  mind,  which  was  copied  in  all  the  strokes  of 
his  pen.  A  more  harmonious  feeling  than  he  ex- 
pressed could  not  exist.  If  he  had  any  fault,  it  was 
that  he  did  not  resent  blame,  and  was  thus  not 
quite  fit  for  this  warring  world.  As  he  sat  and 
listened,  he  seemed  part  of  the  symphony  or  song. 
Such  a  nature  seems  to  come  and  go  as  unnoted 
as  sunshine  or  the  summer's  breath.  But,  like  the 
genial  elements,  it  moulds  and  softens  the  universal 
frame,  outlasting  every  storm.  Without  a  word 
comes  nature's  bloom  or  fruit.  Our  subject  had  as 
little  sound  or  show." 

The  sunny  and  hopeful  nature  of  Dwight's  char- 
acter has  been  spoken  of,  and  that  cheerfulness  ap- 
peared in  every  phase  of  his  life.  He  could  not  be 
conquered  by  disappointments  or  failures,  but  per- 
sistently looked  on  the  bright  side  of  life,  and  con- 
tinued to  believe  steadfastly  in  its  underlying  good. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  hopeful  of  optimists  who 
ever  lived,  and  persistently  refused  to  surrender  to 
the  evil  and  the  gloom  of  life. 


268  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

Dwight's  keen  enjoyment  of  everything  healthy, 
beautiful,  and  loving,  was  a  noticeable  feature  in 
his  character.  Mrs.  John  A.  Andrew,  who  knew 
him  intimately  for  many  years,  has  said  that  he  had 
a  great  capacity  for  enjoyment,  finding  pleasure  in 
the  little  things  about  him,  being  keenly  alive  to 
their  beauty  or  fitness  or  the  mere  charm  of  their 
existence.  He  found  pleasure  in  watching  the  fire- 
flies, when  on  a  visit  to  the  country  in  summer,  or 
the  apples  on  the  trees.  His  little  country  walks 
would  give  him  exquisite  enjoyment,  as  he  gazed 
at  the  water,  watched  a  beautiful  sunset,  or  took  an 
interest  in  the  katydids.  Another  woman  saw  the 
same  thing  in  him,  and  has  thus  borne  testimony 
to  it :  "I  think  one  of  Mr.  Dwight's  finest  traits 
was  his  keen  instinct  for  and  appreciation  of  the 
highest  and  noblest  things  in  life,  whether  in  art, 
literature,  or  the  character  of  men  and  women 
whom  he  knew  and  met.  He  seemed  to  gravitate 
naturally  towards  the  beautiful,  and  to  have  a  re- 
sponsiveness towards  all  the  most  ideal  and  finest 
sides  of  life." 

One  of  Dwight's  lifelong  friends  has  said  that 
his  "  love  of  flowers  was  a  passion.  He  made  us 
first  acquainted  with  the  Northampton  flowers," 
she  writes,  "  which  were  of  any  rarity.  None  of  us 
young  people  had  ever  seen  an  Arethusa  until  he 
brought  us  handfuls  of  them ;  and  I  might  say  the 
same  of  countless  flowers  of  literature."  Although 
city  born  and  bred,  and  a  man  of  the  city  nearly  all 
his  life,  yet  he  was  a  genuine  lover  of  nature,     His 


PERSONAL    TRAITS  269 

delight  in  the  simpler  forms  of  the  outward  world 
was  of  an  almost  exuberant  character.  Certainly,  it 
was  intense  and  never-failing.  His  fondness  for 
flowers  was  that  of  a  poet,  and  he  could  never 
enjoy  them  too  often  or  too  keenly.  All  living, 
growing,  happy  things  appealed  to  him ;  and  he 
seemed  to  appreciate  them  as  if  they  were  persons 
who  could  respond  with  love  for  love. 

What  one  has  called  "  that  benign,  intellectual, 
sunlit  face  of  his  "  attracted  many  persons.  John 
Holmes,  the  most  intimate  of  his  friends  from  the 
time  of  their  college  days,  has  said :  "  Dwight  used, 
at  rather  long  intervals,  to  visit  me  in  the  classic 
Appian  Way ;  and  the  beaming  benevolence  of  his 
aspect  made  quite  an  impression  on  my  household, 
which  still  remains."  "  He  was  more  than  a  friend 
to  me,  and  I  revered  him  as  I  would  a  father,"  says 
the  principal  of  the  Perkins  Institution  for  the 
Blind.  Another  of  his  lifelong  friends  has  said  of 
his  letters :  "  They  were  always  interesting,  and  I 
was  always  glad  to  get  them.  How  could  they  be 
otherwise  from  a  writer  whose  spirit  was  so  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  not  only  the  deepest  musi- 
cal harmonies,  but  those  also  of  the  great  world  it- 
self in  all  its  relations  ?  He  was  very  often  my 
guest,  and  his  visits  were  always  most  welcome." 

One  who  was  a  member  of  Dwight's  family  for 
a  time  has  written  of  him :  "  I  do  not  know  any 
one  who  can  do  justice  to  his  character.  He  was 
unique,  as  pure  and  lovely  a  soul  as  I  ever  met  in 
man.      He    needs     many    biographers,    he    was    so 


270  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

many-sided."  One  of  these  many  sides  of  Dwight's 
nature  has  been  interpreted  by  another  friend,  who 
has  written :  "  I  could  weave  my  thoughts  of  him 
into  a  romance.  He  was  surrounded  with  a  glamour 
from  my  youthful  discipleship,  when  he  was  the 
apostle  of  music ;  and,  when  I  came  to  know  him, 
I  never  could  feel  in  his  company  that  Pan  was 
dead.  His  touch  with  life  —  with  sunshine,  music, 
poetry,  flowers,  even  food  and  wine  —  made  me 
feel  inclined  to  look  for  the  '  furry  ears.'  I  am  the 
victim  of  imagination,  and  perhaps  John  Dwight 
was  something  very  different  from  this ;  but  he  had 
this  suggestion,  too,  I  know, —  and  this  was  why 
I  loved  him." 

Dwight  was  not  a  student  in  the  sense  of  being 
a  persistent  questioner  of  any  special  form  of  truth. 
He  was  not  even  a  student  of  music  in  the  tech- 
nical sense.  His  habitual  life  was  not  that  of 
the  intellect,  but  rather  that  of  imagination  and 
feeling.  He  lived  to  enjoy  rather  than  to  know. 
He  cared  less  for  truth  than  for  aesthetic  fulness 
of  being,  to  feel  and  to  love  what  is  beautiful. 

Dwight's  voice  was  pleasant  and  winning.  He 
spoke  slowly,  with  poise  and  equilibrium.  He 
shrank  from  speaking  in  public,  except  in  the  circle 
of  his  own  intimate  associates.  Yet,  when  he  did 
speak,  it  was  with  apparent  readiness,  slowly,  with 
evident  desire  to  find  the  right  word,  and  with  care 
to  state  his  argument  with  precision.  His  conver- 
sation was  joyous,  almost  exuberant  with  intimate 
friends,  hopeful  and  cheerful  in  the  highest  degree. 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  271 

He  had  a  charming,  playful  humor,  quick  and  sym- 
pathetic enjoyment  of  all  around  him,  the  keenest 
relish  of  free  social  intercourse,  and  a  warm  interest 
in  all  that  was  sparkling,  bright,  and  amusing. 

It  may  be  truly  said  that  Dwight  had  a  gift  for 
friendship.  The  circle  of  his  friends  was  a  wide 
one,  and  it  included  many  of  the  noblest  men  and 
women  in  New  England  and  New  York  during  his 
time.  In  early  life  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  Dr.  Chan- 
ning,  and  imbibed  the  spirit  of  that  great  preacher. 
Among  his  friends,  during  the  period  of  his  life 
as  a  minister,  were  Samuel  Osgood,  Frederic  H. 
Hedge,  Henry  W.  Bellows,  and  Charles  T.  Brooks. 
He  was  a  great  admirer  of  Hedge,  was  much  in- 
fluenced by  his  thought,  and  continued  his  regard 
for  him  to  the  end  of  his  life.  With  Brooks  the  in- 
timacy was  a  very  close  one,  and  was  never  broken. 
He  came  close  to  Parker  in  his  intellectual  convic- 
tions, though  so  wide  apart  from  him  in  his  sym- 
pathies. For  a  few  years  they  saw  much  of  each 
other,  and  sought  each  other's  society  with  warm  re- 
gard. All  the  men  and  women  who  were  at  Brook 
Farm  came  into  the  circle  of  Dwight's  friends, 
and  the  cordial  relation  between  them  was  con- 
tinued throughout  life.  One  of  the  closest  of  these 
friendships  was  that  with  George  W.  Curtis.  Until 
Curtis  settled  in  New  York,  their  correspondence 
was  frequent ;  and  never  many  months,  so  long  as 
Curtis  lived,  passed  without  an  interchange  of  let- 
ters. They  confided  in  each  other,  and  poured  out 
the   secrets    of   the    heart.      From    this    time,  too, 


272       -         JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

dated  most  friendly  relations  with  Emerson,  Low- 
ell, Holmes,  Fields,  Underwood,  and  how  many 
more! 

From  the  days  of  the  Associationists  and 
Dwight's  connection  with  the  Boston  Chronotype 
dates  his  friendship  with  Dr.  S.  G.  and  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe.  Dr.  Howe  had  a  general  sympathy 
with  the  associationist  movement,  enough  so  to  at- 
tach Dwight  to  him ;  and  the  acquaintance  ripened 
into  the  warmest  friendship.  In  the  Howe  family 
Dwight  was  almost  domesticated,  and  was  trusted 
and  loved.  This  regard  passed  into  warmest  at- 
tachment and  veneration  on  the  part  of  the  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren  of  the  family.  Almost  as 
cordial  was  his  relation  with  the  family  of  Governor 
John  A.  Andrew  and  several  other  of  his  more  in- 
timate friends.  He  won  their  confidence,  he  se- 
cured their  love,  and  they  became  most  warmly 
attached  to  him.  This  was  due  in  no  small  degree 
to  his  own  sympathetic  and  affectionate  nature, 
which  drew  others  to  him,  because  he  gave  himself 
to  them  with  such  fidelity  and  appreciation. 

One  source  of  Dwight's  attachment  to  the  fami- 
lies of  his  friends  was  his  love  for  children.  This 
love  was  almost  unbounded  in  its  devotion  and 
quickness  of  sympathy.  Children  trusted  and 
loved  him,  clung  to  him  with  passionate  attach- 
ment, and  confided  to  him  their  hopes  and  griefs. 
This  fondness  for  him  remained  when  the  girls  had 
grown  into  maidenhood  ;  and  he  had  always  two  or 
three  maidens  to  whom  he  was  devoted,  with  whom 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  273 

his  friendship  was  intimate,  who  trusted  him  as  a 
comrade,  and  who  had  an  unbounded  admiration 
for  him.  It  was  usual  for  him  to  take  one  or  two 
of  these  girls  with  him  to  concerts.  He  advised 
them  as  to  their  intellectual  pursuits,  and  he  exer- 
cised an  important  influence  on  their  lives.  It  is 
quite  unusual  for  old  persons  to  have  so  many 
warm  friends  among  those  of  the  younger  genera- 
tions as  he  did.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  him  to 
take  the  children  of  his  friends  to  concerts,  and 
give  them  their  earliest  hearings  of  the  music  of 
the  great  masters.  He  was  never  so  happy  as 
when  with  congenial  companions,  young  or  old ; 
and  it  is  no  wonder  if  at  times  this  pleasure  colored 
a  little  too  highly  his  enjoyment  of  events,  but  it 
never  warped  his  judgment  when  in  a  serious  mood. 
He  was  greatly  dependent  on  such  associations  for 
his  relish  of  life,  and  friendship  was  to  him  an  es- 
sential of  his  being.  He  lived  in  those  he  loved, 
and  found  life  momentarily  good  or  bad  according 
to  his  personal  associations. 

It  shows  one  of  the  nobler  sides  of  human  nature 
when  we  consider  the  cordial  way  in  which  Dwight 
was  sustained  by  his  friends.  Without  money  him- 
self and  without  the  gift  for  making  it,  his  friends 
stood  by  him  in  his  enterprises  for  the  promotion  of 
the  interests  of  music,  again  and  again  helped  him 
to  the  financial  means  to  carry  on  his  labors.  They 
rallied  around  him  whenever  a  pinch  came,  making 
sure  that  his  labors  should  not  come  to  an  end,  and 
giving  freely  to  him  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the 


274  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

interests  of  culture,  and  not  his  own  personal  needs, 
the  object  of  their  help.  Their  devotion  to  him 
through  many  years  shows  his  own  winning  per- 
sonal qualities  in  the  brightest  light,  partly  because 
he  could  win  and  hold  such  loyalty,  and  partly 
because  he  could  so  completely  lose  sight  of  him- 
self in  that  for  which  he  lived, —  the  promotion 
of  the  highest  interests  of  art.  Even  the  young 
people  who  loved  him  so  well  felt  that  it  was  an 
honor  to  help  such  a  man  in  his  devotion  to  music ; 
and  some  of  them  once  held  a  concert,  from  the 
proceeds  of  which  they  handed  him  six  hundred 
dollars. 

It  may  be  said  of  Dwight  that  he  knew  how  to 
give  with  enthusiasm,  as  well  as  how  to  receive 
with  self-respect.  No  one  could  have  been  more 
ready  to  help  others  than  he,  or  oftener  moved  to 
give  a  helping  hand.  When  the  library  of  one 
of  his  friends  was  offered  for  sale  because  ill-health 
had  brought  poverty,  Dwight  set  to  work  and  se- 
cured the  aid  which  made  that  sacrifice  unnecessary. 
Among  the  visitors  at  Brook  Farm  was  Signora 
Elisa  Biscaccianti,  a  beautiful  Italian  singer.  Mis- 
fortunes came  to  her  in  later  years.  She  wrote  to 
Dwight  of  her  troubles,  and  he  did  all  which  was 
possible  to  aid  her  in  her  poverty  and  sorrow. 
Joseph  Trenkle  was  a  young  musician  in  Boston  of 
great  promise.  Disease  came  upon  him,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  seek  a  milder  climate.  Dwight  organized 
a  concert,  sent  his  friend  a  generous  contribution, 
which  enabled  the  young  man  to  settle  in  California 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  275 

and    to  do    much    for    music    before    consumption 
claimed  him. 

From  his  position  as  the  widely  known  leader  of 
the  musical  interests  of  Boston,  Dwight  was  con- 
stantly appealed  to  for  advice  and  help.  He  was 
most  generous  in  giving  his  own  time  to  the  friends 
who  thus  called  upon  him,  and  not  less  freely  to 
the  strangers,  who  were  many.  There  came  re- 
quests for  advice  as  to  teachers,  musical  instru- 
ments, and  the  study  of  music.  Facts  historical, 
biographical,  and  literary  were  desired.  Aid  for 
this,  that,  and  the  other,  was  requested.  Among 
these  requests  was  one  from  George  Ticknor,  ask- 
ing for  a  list  of  two  or  three  hundred  of  the  best 
books  on  music,  such  as  ought  to  be  purchased  for 
the  Boston  Public  Library.  Another  was  from 
Andrew  D.  White,  asking  his  aid  in  securing  a 
suitable  person  to  fill  the  professorship  of  music  in 
Cornell  University.  Still  another  was  from  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  asking  advice  as  to  a  musical  con- 
ductor for  his  church.  To  all  these  requests  Dwight 
gave  sympathetic  reply,  and  such  help  as  was  in 
his  power.  They  came  frequently,  because  it  was 
known  that  he  was  ready  to  respond,  and  because 
he  gave  as  freely  as  he  received.  His  was  not  a 
stinted  sympathy,  but  responsive  and  intelligent. 
He  was  very  generous,  and  very  fond  of  making 
presents  of  rare  books  or  of  fine  editions  of  Beet- 
hoven's sonatas.  When  Mrs.  Anagnos  died,  he 
presided  at  a  memorial  service  in  a  most  sympa- 
thetic and  inspiring  manner,  reading  a  poem  of 
cordial  appreciation  of  her  gifts  as  a  woman. 


276  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

This  gift  for  friendship  put  Dwight  into  kindly 
relations  with  the  musicians  of  Boston,  and  won  for 
him  their  most  cordial  support.  They  criticised 
him  on  occasion,  and  sometimes  sharply ;  but  they 
knew  his  generous  nature,  and  that  he  desired  to 
help  them  in  every  way  possible.  They  trusted 
him  therefore,  and  gave  him  their  admiration  and 
support. 

At  the  Symphony  concerts  it  was  Dwight's  habit 
to  sit  in  the  front  seat  of  the  left  balcony,  very  near 
the  stage.  At  the  Handel  and  Haydn  concerts  he 
always  had  the  same  seat,  about  the  middle  of  the 
floor.  He  took  no  notes,  was  always  promptly  in 
his  seat,  and  was  very  impatient  if  obliged  to  wait 
for  those  he  invited  to  accompany  him.  He  stud- 
ied the  composition  beforehand,  trusted  to  his  im- 
pressions, and  wrote  fluently  of  what  he  had  heard 
and  felt.  His  writing,  when  at  its  best,  had  the 
appearance  of  being  produced  easily  and  in  elo- 
quent strain,  the  outgushing  of  a  full  mind  and 
deep  feeling.  In  fact,  he  often  wrote  slowly,  with 
careful  refinement  and  deliberation,  correcting  and 
rewriting  with  much  painstaking. 

When  all  went  as  he  desired,  Dwight  was  a  gen- 
erous and  amiable  presiding  officer;  but,  when  any- 
thing he  decidedly  disapproved  came  forward,  he 
always  managed  to  prevent  its  acceptance.  This 
feature  of  his  character  is  shown  clearly  in  some 
reminiscences  furnished  by  Mr.  William  F.  Ap- 
thorp,  who  says  :  — 

"  The  time  when  I  saw  most  of  Dwight  was  from 


PERSONAL    TRAITS  277 

twenty  to  twenty-five  years  ago, —  before  I  was  mar- 
ried ;  and  I  used  to  pass  a  good  many  evenings  in 
his  company,  into  the  small  hours,  across  a  table  in 
the  Parker  House  restaurant.  But  with  my  mar- 
riage came  a  truce  to  das  Wirthshauslaufen ;  and, 
as  I  got  busier  and  busier,  I  found  less  and  less 
opportunity  to  share  in  that  do  Ice  far  niente  which 
made  up  a  good  part  of  his  life.  I  have  no  definite 
recollection  of  any  of  our  old  Parker  House  chats. 
They  were  too  long  ago,  and  I  really  don't  think 
we  talked  about  much  of  anything  in  particular. 
He  never  talked  as  he  wrote. 

"  After  his  election  as  president  of  the  Harvard 
Musical  Association,  I  continued  to  meet  him  a 
good  deal  on  committees,  of  several  of  which  I 
was  a  member  in  those  days.  He  always  presided, 
and  I  think  I  could  swear  before  a  jury  that  in  no 
single  instance  did  any  pressure  succeed  in  induc- 
ing him  to  put  a  motion  which  he  did  not  like. 
His  obstinacy  in  this  matter  was  so  marked  that  it 
has  crowded  all  else  out  of  my  memory. 

"  I  do,  however,  remember  one  comical  incident 
which  well  exemplified  a  certain  mental  trait  of  his. 
We  were  sitting  in  committee  one  afternoon,  in  the 
old  Harvard  Musical  rooms  in  Pemberton  Square, 
and  discussing  things  rather  lazily  and  desultorily, 
as  was  our  wont.  James  T.  Fields  —  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Association,  though  not  on  the  com- 
mittee—  happened  to  drop  in,  to  get  a  book  out  of 
the  library.  Finding  a  committee  in  session,  he 
was  about  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  when  Dwight 
called  out  to  him  :  — 


278  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

"  '  Oh,  don't  go,  Fields, —  don't  go.  You  won't 
trouble  us  in  the  least.  We  will  make  you  member 
of  the  committee  pro  tern.  Sit  down  and  tell  us 
something.' 

"  Fields  accepted  the  invitation,  and,  after  a  little 
chit-chat,  said :  — 

"  '  By  the  way,  gentlemen,  I  have  just  seen  some- 
thing on  a  publisher's  price-list  that  struck  me  as 
something  out  of  the  common.  It  was  the  title  of 
a  song, —  "  Give  my  chewing-gum  to  Gerry."  I  have 
been  bothering  my  head  ever  since  to  try  to  imag- 
ine what  on  earth  the  next  line  can  be.' 

"We  all  laughed;  and,  just  as  the  conversation 
was  about  to  turn  to  other  topics,  Dwight  called 
out:  — 

"  '  Fields,  that  was  a  strange  freak  of  fancy, —  that 
title  you  just  mentioned.  What  could  have  sug- 
gested such  a  curious  connection  of  ideas  ?  Let  me 
see,  what  was  the  title  ? '  " 

"  '  "  Give  my  chewing-gum  to  Gerty,"  '  repeated 
Fields. 

"  *  Strange,  very  strange,  indeed,'  Dwight  went  on. 
'  Chewing-gum, —  yes,  I  can  understand  chewing- 
gum  being  made  the  subject  of  a  popular  song  now- 
adays. People  make  songs  on  pretty  much  every- 
thing. But  what  bothers  me  is  the  other  part, —  why 
especially  to  Goethe  ? ' 

"  As  an  instance  of  Dwight's  immovableness,  the 
late  Otto  Dresel  once  told  me :  '  The  other  day  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  would,  for  once,  force 
Dwight  to  make  the  first  move,  even  at  the  risk 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  279 

of  my  life.  It  was  an  awful  afternoon,  with  east 
wind  and  rain  and  sleet  and  everything  horrible. 
I  met  him  on  Tremont  Street,  just  opposite  the 
West  Street  gate.  I  stopped  him  in  the  middle  of 
the  street,  and  began  talking  with  him.  There  we 
stood,  in  the  middle  of  the  crossing,  in  all  the  wind 
and  cold  rain,  with  the  horse-cars  running  on  one 
side  of  us,  and  the  carriages  rushing  on  the  other. 
Well, —  will  you  believe  it  ?  —  after  half  an  hour  by 
the  Park  Street  clock,  I  had  to  give  in,  or  I  should 
be  dead  now  with  pneumonia.  Dwight  would  not 
budge,  nor  give  the  faintest  sign  of  intending  ever 
to  budge !  I  had  to  make  the  first  move,  after  all' 
"  Another  incident  occurs  to  me,  illustrating 
Dwight's  good  nature,  and  his  willingness  to  laugh 
at  a  joke  against  himself.  It  was  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Harvard  Musical  Association  concert  com- 
mittee for  the  purpose  of  assigning  seats  to  the 
subscribers  to  the  symphony  concerts.  The  seats 
were  to  be  drawn  by  lot.  For  once,  Dwight  made 
the  unusual  concession  to  parliamentary  law  of 
moving  that  S.  Lothrop  Thorndike  should  take  the 
chair,  as  he  himself  would  like  to  take  part  in  the 
discussion  of  certain  matters.  When  Thorndike 
had  been  voted  into  the  chair,  Dwight  made  a  mo- 
tion that,  as  he  (Dwight)  really  managed  the  con- 
certs, he  might  be  allowed  to  select  his  seats  before 
the  drawing  by  lot,  it  being  important  to  him  to 
have  seats  from  which  he  could  easily  leave  the  hall 
at  any  time  during  the  concert,  as  he  often  had  to 
consult    with    the    musicians.      Thorndike    imme- 


280  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

diately  said,  '  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  mo- 
tion, which  is  to  the  effect  that,  in  consequence  of 
the  necessity  Mr.  Dwight  labors  under  of  having  to 
go  out  every  now  and  then  to  see  a  man,' —  A 
shout  of  laughter  interrupted  him,  and  Dwight  was 
the  heartiest  laugher  there." 

In  religion  Dwight  was  a  follower  of  Emerson 
and  Parker,  with  the  one  repudiating  all  formal- 
ism and  creed,  and  with  the  other  holding  to  the 
conviction  that  Christianity  is  the  absolute  religion. 
He  was  of  the  same  mind  with  Emerson  in  his 
repudiation  of  the  organized  religion  about  him, 
not  attending  church  for  many  years,  and  holding 
toward  the  churches  an  attitude  of  dislike  of  their 
methods  and  spirit.  He  hated  all  formality  in  re- 
ligion ;  but  his  attitude  in  this  respect,  as  one  of 
his  most  intimate  friends  has  said,  was  quite  unlike 
his  sweet  and  generous  self. 

If  Dwight  was  mistaken  in  his  religious  attitude, 
it  was  in  believing  too  much  and  not  in  believing 
too  little.  He  repudiated  the  historic  and  conven- 
tional, but  with  the  conviction  that  he  was  thereby 
holding  all  the  more  firmly  to  what  is  spiritual  and 
eternal.  He  agreed  with  Emerson  in  holding  that 
the  communion  of  the  soul  with  God  is  too  sacred 
for  public  prayer,  and  he  could  not  believe  that 
spiritual  trust  gives  any  sanction  to  petitions  for 
material  blessings.  He  did  not  hold  with  the  sci- 
entist that  prayer  is  of  no  avail,  but  that  it  is  the 
private  communion  of  the  soul  with  God, —  too  holy 
for  any  outward  expression,  too  interior  in  its  spir- 
itual import  for  any  formal  utterance. 


PERSONAL   TRAITS  281 

Theodore  Parker's  belief  that  in  its  great  spir- 
itual teachings  Christianity  is  the  absolute  religion 
was  also  accepted  by  Dwight.  This  opinion  he 
very  clearly  stated  in  his  essay  on  Common  Sense, 
where  he  asks :  "  What  is  the  religion  of  common 
sense  ?  Is  not  that  —  I  ask  with  reverence  —  the 
proud  distinction  of  Christianity  ?  The  simplest  of 
all  religions,  the  faith  which  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
lived  and  taught,  finds  its  response  and  welcome  in 
the  nobler  common  sense  of  man.  I  mean  the 
Christianity  of  Christ  himself,  as  illustrated  in  the 
whole  spirit  of  his  own  short  life  on  earth,  and  not 
that  of  the  churches,  creeds,  and  artificial,  subtle 
schemes  of  dogma." 

It  will  be  seen  that,  in  these  opinions,  Dwight 
put  himself  into  sympathy  with  the  mystics  of  all 
ages.  He  was  not  a  rationalist,  for  he  found  the 
centre  of  his  faith  in  feeling ;  and  the  emotional 
life  afforded  him  whatever  is  best  in  religion.  He 
overlooked  in  some  measure  the  great  need  men 
have  for  union  with  each  other  in  worship,  and  that 
such  union  necessitates  what  is  conventional  or 
what  all  can  agree  upon  as  fit  symbol  for  the  in- 
ward conviction.  He  was  right  enough,  however, 
in  insisting  that  the  soul  is  its  own  witness  of  God, 
and  that  all  forms  are  nothing  more  than  forms,  as 
often  hiding  as  revealing  the  interior  fact.  His 
appeal  to  feeling  was  of  great  interest,  because  he 
made  music  his  chosen  form  for  the  interpretation 
of  the  soul's  needs. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
THE    CLOSING   YEARS. 

It  was  not  left  for  Dwight  to  undertake  any 
great  task  after  the  closing  of  the  Journal  of  Music. 
Yet  the  dozen  years  more  of  his  life  were  busy 
ones,  and  quite  in  harmony  with  those  which  had 
preceded.  He  wrote  several  papers  on  the  history 
of  music  in  Boston,  and  he  produced  several  essays 
of  much  value  on  topics  which  had  always  in- 
terested him.  He  continued  his  work  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association,  and  he 
gave  much  attention  to  the  improvement  of  its 
library. 

In  July,  1880,  occurred  the  death  of  his  lifelong 
friend,  George  Ripley,  who  had  perhaps  been 
nearer  to  him  than  any  other  of  his  many  friends. 
They  were  of  one  mind  on  nearly  all  questions 
which  interested  them  both,  for  many  years  they 
had  counselled  and  cheered  each  other,  and  they 
had  been  closely  associated  under  circumstances 
which  cemented  their  affection.  Dwight  was  asked 
by  Mrs.  Ripley  to  act  as  one  of  the  pall-bearers  at 
the  funeral,  and  he  sent  this  letter  in  reply :  — 

"  I  feel  very  grateful  to  you  for  thinking  of  me 
for  one  of  the  pall-bearers  at  the  funeral  of  my  ever- 
dear  and  honored  friend  and  old-time  associate,  the 
cherished  noble  partner  of  your  life  so  many  years, 
George  Ripley.  The  name  is  sacred  to  me ;  and 
it  seemed  to  me  a  sacred  duty  to  go  at  once  and 
join  with  other  old    friends  in  those  last,  solemn, 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS  283 

tender  services  about  his  grave.  But  a  moment's 
reflection  showed  me  that,  in  the  critical  condition 
of  my  affairs, —  demanding  all  my  time, —  and  in 
the  far  from  sound  condition  of  my  health,  it  would 
be  very  imprudent,  and  might  at  the  last  moment 
prove  impossible  for  me  to  make  the  journey  in  the 
extreme  heat  to  New  York.  So,  rather  than  an- 
swer doubtfully,  I  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Reid  as  I  did. 
It  was  done  most  reluctantly.  My  heart  yearned 
to  be  there.  It  would  have  been  good  for  my  own 
soul  to  share  in  the  last  words  of  farewell  and  of 
peace  to  that  hard-working,  brave,  true,  noble  friend. 
As  it  was,  I  could  but  be  present  in  the  spirit ;  and 
I  passed  that  hour  at  my  piano,  playing  from 
Bach's  '  Passion  Music '  several  chorals,  and  the 
profoundly  sad  yet  tender,  hopeful  Schluss-chor, 
1  Around  thy  tomb  here  sit  we  weeping.' 

"  Indeed,  my  haunting  thought  through  all  these 
days  has  been  of  him.  He  was,  on  the  whole,  the 
best  friend  I  ever  had ;  and,  though  I  have  not 
seen  him  for  some  years,  I  have  never  ceased  to 
think  of  him  with  love  and  gratitude  for  all  the 
encouragement,  the  quickening  influence,  the  wise 
counsel,  and  the  happiness  which  I  derived  from  in- 
tercourse with  him  during  so  many  of  the  best  years 
of  my  life,  before  and  during  the  Brook  Farm  days, 
with  delightful  (only  too  infrequent)  meetings  since. 
I  now  repent  me  sadly  that  I  never  made  the  effort 
to  get  on  to  New  York  during  the  last  year  or  two, 
and  look  upon  his  benignant  face  and  listen  to  his 
cheerful  voice  again.     I  had  hoped  even  yet,  after 


284  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

Mr.  Allen's  rather  favorable  report  of  his  condition 
some  ten  days  ago,  to  see  him  once  more  alive. 
Alas,  too  late ! 

"  It  must  be  very  grateful  to  you,  as  it  is  to  me, 
to  read  on  all  sides  such  heartfelt  tributes  as  his 
rich,  beneficent,  well-rounded  life  and  labors  have 
called  forth.  I  trust  the  record  will  be  embodied 
in  a  biography  complete  enough  to  be  his  worthy 
monument.  Accept  my  heartfelt  sympathies  in  your 
great  loss, —  for  comfort,  what  could  you  have 
greater  than  the  thought  of  what  he  was  and  did  ? 
—  and  believe  me  sincerely  your  friend." 

To  the  end  of  his  life  Dwight  continued  to  make 
his  summer  outings  in  Newport,  Gardiner,  and  else- 
where. A  letter  written  to  one  of  his  sisters  in 
August,  1882,  may  find  a  place  here:  — 

"  My  week  at  Newport  was  very  enjoyable ;  and 
I  felt  very  much  refreshed  by  it,  in  spite  of  the  great 
heat  and  drought  there  also.  The  Tweedys  were 
as  good  and  kind  as  ever,  and  I  saw  many  pleasant 
people.  One  day  Brooks  and  the  new  young 
pastor  of  the  Channing  Church,  Mr.  Wendte,  dined 
with  us ;  also  Mrs.  Howe  and  Mr.  John  Field,  a  most 
genial,  entertaining  man, —  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  J.  R.  Lowells, —  who  has  been  living  nine  years 
abroad,  knows  everybody,  and  has  much  to  tell. 
He  gave  us  one  good  anecdote  of  Carlyle,  which  he 
had  direct  from  Robert  Browning.  It  seems  the 
queen  one  day  suggested  to  Dean  Stanley  that  it 
would  be  quite  nice  if  he  would  bring  together  at 
the  deanery  some  of  the  literary  celebrities,  and  ask 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS  285 

her  to  meet  them  in  a  quiet  social  way.  He  did  so. 
There  were  present  Tennyson,  Carlyle,  Browning, 
and  others.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  the  con- 
versation turned  on  poverty,  its  alarming  increase, 
and  the  question  of  the  remedy.  '  You  must  ex- 
cept Scotland,'  said  Carlyle.  '  We  have  no  pov- 
erty in  Scotland.'  Said  the  queen,  '  I  beg  your 
pardon,  but  I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  re- 
lieve it  there  myself.'  '  Then,'  gruffly  returned 
Carlyle,  '  if  there  is  any,  it  must  be  of  your  own 
making.'  The  queen,  on  retiring,  passed  near 
Browning,  and  said  to  him  in  a  low  tone,  '  What 
a  terrible  old  man  ! ' 

Appropriate  to  this  place  is  a  letter  which 
Dwight  received  on  the  occasion  of  his  seventieth 
birthday :  — 

Cambridge,  May  12,  or  make  it  the  i$t/i,  1883. 

My  dear  John, —  I  greet  you  on  your  arrival  with 
me  at  the  Scriptural  age  of  threescore  and  ten, — 
you  my  junior  by  two  months.  Can  you  believe  it? 
We  have  known  each  other  fifty  years!  The 
whirligig  of  time,  with  its  ceaseless  revolutions, 
changes,  absences  from  each  other,  and  so  on,  has 
not,  I  think,  worn  away  in  the  least  our  old  friend- 
ship. We  were  drawn  together  from  the  first  by 
intellectual  sympathies,  by  our  studies  in  the  Divin- 
ity School,  by  our  tendencies  towards  freer,  fresher, 
more  ideal  views  of  literature  and  life,  in  our  aspira- 
tions after  the  true,  the  good,  the  beautiful,  and, 
not  least,  by  our  common  love  of  music.  We  were 
youths  then.     Are   we    much  older  now?     Wiser, 


286  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

let    us    hope,   but    both    young  at  the  core  of  our 
hearts. 

Let  us  bless  the  good  Powers  that  have  pre- 
served us  for  this  meeting  to  celebrate  your  birth- 
day. I  shall  be  delighted  to  come,  and  am  ever, 
with  remembrance  of  the  old  days  and  the  new, 
yours  faithfully,  Christopher   P.  Cranch. 


In  1884  D wight's  portrait  was  painted  by  Miss 
Caroline  Cranch,  and  she  found  him  a  quiet  and 
helpful  sitter.  It  was  secured  by  his  friends,  and 
hung  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  Harvard  Musical 
Association.  In  a  letter  to  her,  on  this  occasion, 
he  said  :  "  I  am  greatly  pleased  on  your  account, 
as  well  as  my  own,  that  the  picture  was  so  appre- 
ciated by  the  Association  of  which  I  am  presi- 
dent ;  for  I  could  not  be  reconciled  to  the  idea  of 
having  all  your  skill  and  labor  bestowed  upon  my 
unworthy  self  with  no  remuneration.  I  know  not 
what  you  have  received,  but  I  fear  not  half  as  much 
as  you  had  a  fair  right  to  demand.  When  I  am 
hung  up  on  the  wall  (with  the  other  old  masters, 
Handel,  Gluck,  etc.),  I  trust  you  will  come  up  and 
see  us.  In  writing  a  day  or  two  since  to  G.  W.  C, 
I  told  him  about  the  portrait  and  the  presentation." 

In  his  reply,  Curtis  said :  "  It  was  very  good  to 
see  your  familiar  hand  again,  and  unchanged,  and, 
best  of  all,  to  read  your  strong,  clear,  masterly,  and 
delightful  plea  for  the  true  saving  grace  of  human- 
ity, common  sense.     It  is  a  most  admirable  piece  of 


THE    CLOSING   YEARS  287 

work,  and  a  host  of  readers  will  wonder  that  they 
never  thought  it  before.  That  is  the  effect  of  all 
wise  writing,  I  suppose,  which,  like  yours,  lays  us 
all  under  obligation.  Why  don't  you  oftener  bring 
us  reports  of  your  interviews  with  Egerie  ?  Cranch 
had  already  told  us  of  the  paper  with  great  praise 
in  a  letter  which  told  me  also  of  your  birthnight 
orgie  with  Boott  and  John  Holmes.  I  have  the 
photograph  of  Carrie  Cranch's  remarkable  portrait 
of  you,  which  is  a  precious  possession ;  and,  when 
I  see  Cranch,  I  hear  of  you,  and,  when  I  don't  see 
him,  I  think  of  you,  and  always  with  the  old  affec- 
tion." 

In  another  letter  we  get  a  glimpse  of  one  of 
Dwight's  most  intimate  and  lifelong  friends,  a 
younger  brother  of  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes:  "The  even- 
ing before  your  letter  came  I  spent  in  Cambridge 
with  my  dear  friend  John  Holmes,  who  has  been 
laid  up  lame,  but  is  getting  better.  I  must  tell  you 
of  a  little  thing  he  related  to  me,  as  showing  the 
delicacy  of  his  character.  I  chanced  to  say  that, 
driven  to  the  last  extremity,  unable  to  write  or  read 
or  think,  I  had  taken  up  '  Pickwick  Papers  '  again. 
Said  he :  '  I  never  met  Dickens  but  once  :  that  was 
at  James  Lowell's.  Mention  was  made  of  some 
little  known  book  of  Walter  Scott,  and  Dickens 
said  to  me :  "  You  ought  to  have  that.  When  I 
get  home,  I  will  send  it  to  you." '  John  said,  '  I 
replied :  "  Oh,  no,  my  dear  sir.  I  cannot  allow 
that.  If  you  make  such  a  promise,  it  will  bother 
you  more  than  it  is  worth,"'  —  or  something  like 
that." 


288  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

In  1883  occurred  the  death  of  Charles  T.  Brooks, 

preacher  and  poet,  who  was  one  of  D wight's  most 

intimate  friends,  and  who  had  been  associated  with 

him  in  at  least  one  or  two  literary  ventures.    To  the 

Boston    Transcript  he   sent  a  poem  expressive  of 

what  his  friend  had  been  to  him,  which  elicited  the 

following  letter :  — 

Boston,  Oct.  30,  1883. 

My  dear  Dwight, —  I  can  hardly  express  to  you 
how  much  I  was  delighted  by  your  poem  on 
Brooks,  published  in  the  Transcript.  Every  trait 
of  his  charming  mind,  every  feature  of  his  gentle 
and  beneficent  face,  rise  before  me  as  I  read  your 
tribute  to  his  moral  and  intellectual  worth.  What 
good  that  man  has  done,  considered  simply  as  a 
translator  of  Goethe  and  Richter!  Yet  his  patriot- 
ism, in  making  us  familiar  with  great  works  of  the 
German  mind,  is  hardly  yet  appreciated  —  except 
by  men  like  you.  How  good  the  man  was !  No- 
body could  believe  in  original  sin  in  his  presence. 
He  radiated  his  own  stainless  heart  and  soul  and 
character  through  every  company  where  he  ap- 
peared. But,  my  dear  Dwight,  why  don't  you 
write  more  poems  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  any 
journal  in  the  country  would  gladly  accept  such 
a  poem  as  this  of  yours. 

Ever  sincerely  yours, 

E.  P.  Whipple. 

For  "  The  Memorial  History  of  Boston,"  the 
fourth    volume    of   which    was   published    in   1881, 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS  289 

Dwight  wrote  a  history  of  music  in  that  city.  In 
the  introduction  to  it  he  gave  a  rapid  sketch  of  the 
musical  growth  of  the  city  during  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  but  this  was  not  used 
because  the  article  was  of  too  great  length.  This 
excised  part  appeared  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly 
in  December,  1882,  under  the  title  of  "Our  Dark 
Age  in  Music."  The  conclusion  of  the  article, 
which  was  devoted  to  the  teaching  of  music  in  the 
public  schools,  was  also  omitted. 

In  1885  Dwight  was  asked  by  the  publishers  of 
Webster's  Dictionary  to  act  as  one  of  the  editors 
of  that  work,  in  the  preparation  of  a  new  and  en- 
larged edition.  He  was  to  revise  the  musical  defi- 
nitions, and  to  add  such  as  the  advance  in  music  had 
made  desirable.  This  edition  appeared  in  1890,  as 
the  "International."  In  1885  came  the  two  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  births  of  Handel  and  Bach, 
and  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly  Dwight  wrote  an  arti- 
cle on  each  of  these  great  composers.  That  on 
Handel  appeared  in  April,  and  that  on  Bach  in 
May. 

Although  Dwight  found  in  the  Harvard  Musical 
Association  the  chief  interest  of  his  life,  in  the  way 
of  an  organized  effort  to  advance  the  cause  of 
music  in  Boston,  yet  he  did  not  confine  his  affec- 
tion or  his  labors  to  that  institution.  He  was  also 
warmly  interested  in  the  Handel  and  Haydn  So- 
ciety, and  welcomed  all  its  efforts  to  advance  the 
cause  of  music.  When  the  history  of  that  society 
by  Charles  C.  Perkins,  one    of    Dwight's    devoted 


290  JOHN   SULLIVAN   DWIGHT 

friends,  came  to  an  end  because  of  his  death, 
Dwight  was  asked  by  the  society  to  take  up  the 
work  and  continue  it.  He  accordingly  prepared 
two  parts,  of  about  one  hundred  pages  each,  which 
were  published  in  1887.  For  the  New  England 
Magazine  he  prepared  a  sketch  of  the  work  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  which  appeared  in 
December,  1889.  This  was  the  last  of  his  several 
articles  on  the  history  of  music  in  Boston,  which, 
taken  together,  make  a  continuous  and  admirable 
historical  survey  of  the  musical  development  of 
that  city. 

In  the  summer  of  1890  Dwight  was  asked  to 
take  charge  of  the  musical  department  of  the  Bos- 
ton Transcript  during  the  absence  of  the  editor, 
Mr.  William  F.  Apthorp,  in  Europe.  He  was  to 
write  of  certain  concerts,  and  his  duties  were  to 
continue  for  only  six  months.  After  much  hesita- 
tion he  undertook  the  task,  which  he  carried 
through  with  entire  success.  To  a  work  edited  by 
Professor  John  K.  Paine,  Theodore  Thomas,  and 
Karl  Klauser,  and  called  "  Famous  Composers  and 
their  Works,"  which  was  published  in  1891, 
Dwight  contributed  a  paper  on  Felix  Mendelssohn- 
Bartholdy.  This  was  the  last  of  his  contributions 
to  the  criticism  of  that  art  he  had  loved  all  his 
life,  and  to  which  his  life  had  been  so  faithfully 
devoted. 

In  1884  Dwight  made  an  effort  to  publish  his 
translations  of  the  poems  of  Goethe.  He  consulted 
Francis  H.  Underwood  as  to  the  best  way  of  bring- 


THE    CLOSING   YEARS  291 

ing  this  about,  who  advised  him  to  apply  to  a 
London  publisher;  but  nothing  came  of  this  proj- 
ect. In  1885  he  wrote  an  essay  on  "Common 
Sense,"  in  which  he  discussed  philosophy,  religion, 
and  politics.  He  read  it  several  times  at  the  houses 
of  his  friends  and  to  club  gatherings.  It  was  much 
admired  by  those  who  heard  it,  and  it  was  received 
with  enthusiasm  by  many.  In  some  degree  it  was 
his  parting  word  to  his  friends  on  some  of  the 
themes  he  had  been  pondering  all  his  life.  It  was 
a  defence  of  the  idealistic  philosophy  of  his  youth, 
and  an  application  of  its  great  principles  to  the 
chief  activities  of  humanity.  This  essay  was  given 
to  the  public  in  the  Unitarian  Review  for  May, 
1890. 

In  1886  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  moved 
to  1 1  Park  Square,  and  here  Dwight  found  a  new 
home.  The  janitor  and  his  family  lived  in  the 
house,  and  with  them  he  was  able  to  take  his  meals, 
if  he  did  not  wish  to  go  out ;  and  more  of  the  com- 
forts of  a  home  came  to  him  in  this  place  than  he 
had  enjoyed  for  many  years.  The  removal  was 
made  necessary  by  the  building  of  the  new  Court 
House,  but  it  was  advantageous  in  many  ways. 

In  November,  1892,  the  Association  bought  the 
house  No.  1  West  Cedar  Street,  and  moved  into 
it.  To  Dwight  the  removal  looked  like  a  terrible 
task,  especially  as  the  janitor  and  his  family,  to 
whom  he  was  warmly  attached,  could  not  go  with 
him.  The  move  was  made  very  easy  to  him,  how- 
ever ;  and  he  found  himself  better  situated  than  ever 


292  JOHN  SULLIVAN  DWIGHT 

before.  Nov.  21,  1892,  he  wrote  to  a  young  friend: 
"  For  several  weeks  I  could  only  say,  I  eat  and 
breathe  dust,  I  think  dust,  I  feel  dust,  I  am  dust! 
That  means  I  have  been  getting  ready  to  move; 
and,  finally,  I  have  moved.  I  write  you  from  our 
new  house,  which  is  ours  (the  Harvard  Musical  As- 
sociation's). I  moved  last  Friday.  Thanks  to  the 
zealous  and  efficient  help  of  my  friends,  the  Ham- 
iltons,  who  took  such  excellent  and  tender  care 
of  me  in  Park  Square,  I  had  everything  —  books, 
clothes,  pictures,  furniture,  and  rubbish  —  brought 
over  here  in  one  day.  Hamilton  put  up  all  my 
books  and  hung  all  my  pictures,  and  Mrs.  H.  made 
my  bed;  and  the  dear  little  Arthur  helped  with 
more  zeal  than  achievement,  but  with  a  vast  deal 
of  sympathy.  The  day  was  very  warm  and  sunny, 
but  after  I  got  here  came  on  a  rain  and  fierce  wind. 
Yet  I  slept  sweetly  in  the  quiet,  clean  neighbor- 
hood ;  and  I  woke  the  next  morning  refreshed,  in 
the  sunshiniest  room  I  was  ever  in.  And  so  it  has 
been  for  three  nights  and  days.  The  house  is  full 
of  carpenters,  painters,  electric-light  men,  who  are 
straining  every  nerve  to  get  all  ready  for  a  grand 
opening  social  musicale,  with  many  guests,  next  Fri- 
day evening.  Our  committee  have  worked  like 
dragons,  getting  the  library  over  and  setting  it  up, 
not  just  in  my  old  order;  for  they  sacrifice  much  to 
their  acoustic  hobby.  But  we  shall  have  a  beau- 
tiful long  room,  three  parlors  end  to  end,  with  solid 
pine  floor,  uncarpeted ;  and  I  think  that  eye  and  ear 
will  find  it  very  agreeable.     We  shall  have  a  very 


THE    CLOSING   YEARS  293 

choice  selection  of  music  :  Beethoven's  great  B-flat 
Trio  (Lang,  Kneisel  and  Schroder  of  the  Sym- 
phony Orchestra) ;  '  Adelaide,'  sung  by  W.  J. 
Winch  ;  and  a  Bach  bass  aria,  sung  by  Lamson.  I 
could  not  have  chosen  better  myself. 

"  The  saddest  thing  about  moving  was  leaving 
our  good  Hamiltons  behind ;  but  I  find  a  good 
Scotch  couple  in  charge  of  the  house,  and  she  fur- 
nishes me  breakfast,  and  makes  (what  is  a  great 
matter  with  me)  excellent  coffee,  and  also  toasts 
muffins  well.  Chater's  headquarters  for  muffins  is 
right  round  the  corner.  The  Symphony  concerts 
are  getting  on  apace.  Orchestra  admirable,  pro- 
grammes might  be  better.  But  we  had  a  good  one, 
with  Beethoven's  Second  Symphony  (the  slow  move- 
ment was  played  at  my  wedding,  in  1851,  on  the 
piano  by  a  friend)." 

"  Your  beautiful  note,  with  its  most  cheering 
contents,  came  at  the  right  time,  when  I  was  sick 
and  much  depressed  by  loss  of  working  days,"  he 
wrote  Jan.  18,  1892,  to  Mrs.  Otto  Dresel.  "  I  have 
been  for  a  week,  and  I  am  still,  confined  to  the 
house  by  a  cough,  with  all  manner  of  painful  ac- 
companiments,—  even  the  old  enemy,  gout,  has 
seized  the  opportunity  to  come  back  on  me  when  I 
am  helpless!  —  else  I  should  have  made  grateful 
acknowledgment  before  now  of  the  most  friendly 
favor.  All  day  yesterday  I  had  proof  to  correct, —  a 
long  article  on  Mendelssohn,  which,  I  natter  myself, 
dear  Otto  would  have  approved.  How  thoughtful 
and  how  kind  you  are  !     And  how  such  sweet  sur- 


294  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

prises  quicken  one's  feeling  that  an  unfailing  friend- 
ship is  very  nearly  the  best  thing  in  life ! " 

On  the  occasion  of  Dwight's  eightieth  birthday, 
May  13,  1893,  the  Harvard  Musical  Association 
gave  him  a  birthday  party,  and  his  friends  gathered 
in  large  numbers.  This  was  a  red-letter  day  in 
Dwight's  life,  and  he  enjoyed  the  occasion  greatly. 
All  through  the  morning  came  to  him  congratula- 
tory letters  and  telegrams  from  friends  who  could 
not  be  present,  and  many  gifts.  He  took  the 
deepest  pleasure  in  the  flowers  that  showered  in 
upon  him  throughout  the  day,  and  often  afterward 
he  referred  to  them  as  the  most  beautiful  he  ever 
saw.  Though  the  afternoon  was  very  rainy,  a  host 
of  friends  gathered  to  do  him  honor,  among  others 
five  who  were  over  eighty  years  of  age  ;  and  Dwight 
was  fond  of  alluding  to  the  six  old  gentlemen, 
whose  ages  rose  in  uninterrupted  succession  from 
eighty  to  eighty-five.  These  were  John  S.  Dwight, 
80;  John  Holmes,  81;  Henry  W.  Pickering,  82; 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  83;  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
84;  Epes  Dixwell,  85.  The  party  was  entirely 
social,  with  just  enough  music,  chiefly  furnished  by 
Mr.  Arthur  W.  Foote  and  Mr.  Wulf  Fries,  to  make 
it  a  most  fitting  occasion.  Four  of  Dwight's  favor- 
ite young  lady  friends  poured  the  tea.  The  whole 
afforded  a  happy  expression  of  the  esteem  in  which 
Dwight  was  held  by  his  many  friends  and  admirers. 
Among  the  messages  of  friendship  and  congratula- 
tion was  this  from  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  who 
thus  recalled  the  many  years  of  her  acquaintance 
with  Dwight :  — 


THE    CLOSING   YEARS  295 

1853. 
Forty  years  since  :  the  way  has  been  long,  but  not  dreary : 
The   limbs  may  grow  feeble  and  faint,    but  the  heart  is  not 

weary  ; 
And  the  music  has  now  the  self-same  melodious  ringing, 
And  high  thoughts  as  then  on  their  own  lofty  pinions  are  wing- 
ing, 
As  when  we  were  young,  and  I  listened,  and  found  with  de- 
light 
That  music  itself  sounded  fuller  and  clearer  through  Dwight. 

1893. 

Early  in  August  a  very  sudden,  acute  illness 
prostrated  him,  from  which  he  only  partially  rallied. 
Although  suffering  much,  he  always  wore  a  peace- 
ful face,  and  was  made  very  happy  and  grateful  by 
the  tireless  devotion  of  his  friends,  who  kept  him 
well  supplied  with  flowers,  fruit,  etc.  They  called 
upon  him  frequently,  and  his  days  of  suffering  were 
brightened  so  much  by  their  presence  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  realize  that  he  was  dan- 
gerously ill.  He  had  the  constant  and  tender  care 
of  relatives,  and  his  brother  Frank  was  with  him  in 
the  last  hours.  During  the  last  days,  friendly  mes- 
sages came  to  him  from  all  directions.  He  died  on 
Sept.  5,  1893. 

The  library  of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association 
on  September  8  was  for  a  second  time  a  gathering 
place  of  his  friends, —  this  time  for  the  service 
which,  some  one  beautifully  said,  was  less  "  like  a 
funeral  than  a  meeting  of  friends  to  bid  him  God- 
speed."   Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes  said  to  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 


296  JOHN    SULLIVAN    DWIGHT 

Howe,  as  they  sat  by  each  other  on  this  occasion, 
"  Mrs.  Howe,  if  we  could  see  everything  that  is, 
don't  you  think  we  would  see  about  that  casket  a 
group  of  angels  very  much  like  those  who  sang  a 
certain  morning  in  Judea?  "  "  Doctor,  why  do  you 
not  put  that  into  a  poem  ?  "  was  the  reply.  The 
usual  religious  service  was  held ;  and  the  music, 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,  was  touching 
and  beautiful.  The  King's  Chapel  Quartet  sang 
Bach's  chorale,  "  Ein'  feste  Burg " ;  and  the  con- 
tralto song,  "  Oh  rest  in  the  Lord,"  was  most  feel- 
ingly sung  by  Miss  Lena  Little.  Mrs.  Howe  read 
the  following  poem  as  a  tribute  to  her  friend  of 
many  years :  — 

TO   JOHN    S.    DWIGHT. 

O  Presence  reverend  and  rare, 
Art  thou  from  earth  withdrawn  ? 

Thou  passest  as  the  sunshine  flits 
To  light  another  dawn. 

Surely,  among  the  symphonies 

That  praise  the  ever-blest, 
Some  strophe  of  surpassing  peace 

Inviteth  thee  to  rest. 

Thine  was  the  treasure  of  a  life 

Heart-ripened  from  within, 
Whose  many  lustres  perfected 

What  youth  did  well  begin. 

The  noble  champions  of  thy  day 

Were  thy  companions  meet, 
In  the  great  harvest  of  our  race, 

Bound  with  its  priceless  wheat. 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS  297 

Thy  voice  its  silver  cadence  leaves 

In  Truth's  resistless  court, 
Where  of  thy  faithful  services 

Her  heralds  make  report. 

Here  thou,  a  watchful  sentinel, 

Didst  guard  the  gates  of  Song, 
That  no  unworthy  note  should  pass 

To  do  her  temple  wrong. 

Dear  are  the  traces  of  thy  days 

Mixed  in  these  walks  of  ours : 
Thy  footsteps  in  our  household  ways 

Are  garlanded  with  flowers. 

If  we  surrender  earth  to  earth, 

The  frame  that's  born  to  die, 
Spirit  with  spirit  doth  ascend 

To  live  immortally. 


